


Thursday

by Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness



Series: New Beginnings [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Anal Sex, Artist!Lucifer, Bottom!Lucifer, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Chuck's a+ parenting, Ear Piercings, Genital Piercing, High School Student Castiel, Homophobia on the part of characters, I didn't mean for it to come up in this story; I'm sorry, M/M, Non-con cutting mentioned in chapter 8, Non-con cutting thoroughly discussed in chapter 9, Nurse!Raphael, Other, Past Rape/Non-con, Tongue Piercings, Top!Sam, Transgender Raphael, Transitioning Raphael, Transphobia on the part of characters, You can skip chapter 9 if you want, lawyer!Sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-07-15 14:27:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16065035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness/pseuds/Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness
Summary: Raphael contacts Lucifer after many years to enlist his help with his younger brother, Castiel.





	1. Phone Call

**Author's Note:**

> This work is part of a series, but it's also a stand-alone if you don't want to go back and read Sunrise. However, this work will contain some spoilers for Sunrise. 
> 
> This work will also deal with some difficult issues surrounding child abuse (physical, not sexual) and transphobia and homophobia. If you're not comfortable with that, this is probably not the best fic for you. 
> 
> I am terrible at estimating how many chapters I will write; this time, I took my estimate and doubled it...and then added a few more just in case. However, I DO have an end in mind and I WILL finish, so I wanted to indicate that up front. Just don't be surprised if there end up being more or fewer chapters--I'll update the count as we go.
> 
> I will try to update at least once per week, but I teach, so when I give exams and things, updates may stretch out to once every two weeks.

It was foggy today, making painting difficult at best, so Lucifer was working in his office at home. Dean and Michael, his and Sam's rescued pitbulls who were named after their older brothers, were sprawled at his feet, still tired from the run Sam had taken them on earlier this morning. Sam was still at work, which was no surprise as he was trying to make partner at the law firm he worked at. 

Lucifer was working on some text for an advertisement he wanted to put up about his new painting in Bela's gallery. He wasn't the greatest writer, having never finished high school, but he insisted on drafting everything himself and then asking his highly-educated fiancé, Sam, to look over it and catch any glaring mistakes. Over the past couple of years, he had learned that he could get better at various tasks he wasn't any good at, but only if he worked hard at them. He'd had to learn how to drive, how to type, how to use social media, how to write, and more. He wasn't a big believer in God, per se, but he thanked the universe every day that it had gifted him with Sam, who always seemed to have endless amounts of patience and was a good teacher besides. 

The phone line for his art studio rang, and he absently picked it up. Dealing with multiple phone lines--there was another thing he'd had to learn. "Hello," he said, still trying to figure out where a comma was supposed to go in a tricky sentence. 

"Hello, " the caller said, after a short pause. "Is this...Lucifer Shurley?" They at least pronounced the name correctly, which was more than most telemarketers could do. Most of them thought he couldn't possibly be named Lucifer, so they tried to pronounce it in some odd way that frequently made Lucifer laugh. 

"The very same!" Lucifer replied. He had grown tremendously in confidence over the past couple of years, and though he wasn't a huge fan of talking on the phone, he now felt confident enough to let some of his personality show when he did. Besides, he had found that those in the art world tended to like personality, as long as it wasn't, as Bela called it, 'temperamental.'

"Luci," the voice replied, causing all of his attention to focus on the caller, "It is Raffie. Please...don't hang up." 

Lucifer hadn't heard either childhood nickname in more than a decade, and was nearly speechless. "Raffie?" he replied, shocked. Raffie was short for Raphael, one of his older brothers. 

"Yes, Luci, it's me, Raffie," the caller sounded pleased. "I am so happy I found you; I thought you might have died. Luci, I am so sorry for everything that happened. You have no idea. I have looked for you off and on over the years, and this time when I did a search, your website popped up. I was not sure it was you at first, but I hoped it was." 

"I--wow," Lucifer replied, pushing his chair a bit further from the desk. Of all the things he'd thought he'd need to deal with today, contact with his family had not even been close to his mental checklist. "This is--how are you?" he finally managed. 

"I am well, Luci," Raphael replied. "How are you? You're an artist now? You always did enjoy drawing."

"I'm--" there were so many things he suddenly wanted to tell his brother, but an equal number of things he wanted to know. "Yeah, I paint," he agreed. He thought he'd better make it clear that certain other things hadn't changed, so he added, "My fiancé, Sam, is a lawyer. _He_ works at a local firm." 

"You're engaged?" Raphael sounded happy for Lucifer--the very last thing that Lucifer expected, given how they'd parted. "That's wonderful, congratulations!"

"You don't mind that I'm still gay?" Lucifer blurted out, unable to stop himself. 

"Luci--no. I have changed a great deal since we were kids. I am so, so sorry that I listened to Father back then. He was just...so frightening, and I was afraid of going to hell. And I was mostly still a child myself. I am _so_ sorry for making you think that I didn't still love you after he kicked you out," Raphael replied. "Michael and I should have taken better care of you, should have stepped in, but we did not know any better."

Lucifer's heart was melting, and there were tears trickling down his cheeks. He had never dreamed, in a million years, that one of his older brothers might end up supportive of his 'lifestyle.' Lucifer wiped the tears away with the back of his hand. "You were just kids," he said roughly. "You couldn't have stopped him."

"Maybe not," Raphael agreed sadly, "But I wish I had tried. Oh, Luci, I am so glad that you are well."

Lucifer cleared his throat, not wanting to get -too- deep into old wounds over the phone. "What about you? How have you been, Raffie? How's...everyone?" he asked, allowing Raphael to take that as he would. 

"Well," Raphael took a deep breath, "I am a nurse. I moved to Sacramento about...five years ago? Perhaps six. I am single, and..." Here he hesitated. "I am in the process of...transitioning," she said finally. "To a woman." 

Lucifer was speechless for a moment, and then began to stutter out his support. "That's--wow, Raffie--wait, I'm sorry, should I not call you Raffie anymore? I'm so glad that you discovered you were trans. And decided to make the transition!" Lucifer tried to think back to his childhood, and when he did, certain events started making more sense. Raphael had always been the 'girliest' of the three brothers, although she never fought to wear dresses or anything like that--it would have been a death sentence in their family, much as Lucifer's homosexuality nearly had been. 

"You can always call me Raffie, Luci," Raphael replied warmly, sounding relieved at Lucifer's reaction. "I'm going to change my name to Rafa, actually. I have started the paperwork but have not yet submitted it. It has taken me a great deal of time and therapy to throw off what we were taught as children, and to then acknowledge who I truly am. I do not mean to be too personal, but...are you seeing a therapist, Luci? Mine has helped me a great deal."

"Yeah, mine..." Lucifer paused. How to describe Garth Fitzgerald IV? "Mine has been very good for me, too," Lucifer finally said. "I had a hard time for a lot of years. But now I'm in a really good place, Raffie." 

"I am so glad," Rafa said. "I have missed you so much. Would you be interested in meeting in person? Your website said you were in Oakland. I wouldn't mind driving over, if we can find a time we are both free."

"Yes, of course, I'd love to see you again," Lucifer enthused. "Your schedule is probably fuller than mine if you're a nurse, so let me know a time that's good for you and we can get together. At some point, you'll have to meet Sam, too. I think you'll really like him; he's a lot like you in a lot of ways, always taking care of people." 

"I would love to, Luci. I'll check my schedule at work for the next week or two and text you. There is something else I did want to talk to you about, however," Rafa replied, in a more serious tone. 

"Is mom sick?" It was the only thing Lucifer could immeidately think of that would warrant that tone and that amount of concern. 

"No, she and Father are fine. It is--you do not even know him," Rafa replied, sounding flustered. 

"Know him? Him who?" Lucifer asked. 

Rafa took a deep breath. "You have a younger brother, Lucifer. Father and Mother had him after you left. His name is Castiel."

Lucifer blinked a few times. A younger brother? He had a younger brother? Worse, his dad had another son to abuse? "What happened?" he asked, assuming that Castiel was hurt.

"What--oh. He is still well. Or as well as anyone in Dad and Mom's care can be. Father has mellowed somewhat over the years, so I do not think that Castiel deals with the amount of physical abuse we did, but...Castiel stayed in contact with me after I left, sending me e-mails from school on an account that Father does not know about. He is being very circumspect, but I believe he is...well, more like you and I than Michael. I am not certain if he is gay, or bi, or trans, or something else, but the questions he is asking make me think he is, at the very least, queer. And I am terrified what Father will do to him if he finds out after what he did to you," explained Rafa.

Lucifer's heart plummeted. "Yeah," he replied. "Yeah, we can't let anyone else go through that. Ever. How can I help, Raffie?" 

Rafa breathed a sigh of relief. "I was thinking of where he could go if he was taken from his parents or forced to move out like you were. I work random shifts at the hospital, and there is just me. Add on what I'm going through, and I do not think my home would be the best place for Castiel. Michael is still very religious and I do not believe he and his wife would take in an openly queer child. I did not even dare to hope that you might be in a place where you might be able to take him in, and I still do not dare to hope that you would even if you are able, but...is there any chance, Luci? At all?"

Lucifer thought for a moment. "I have to talk to Sam about this, obviously. We have talked about having children after we get married, but...little ones, not teenagers. But we do know some charities that would help him out if he did get kicked out of the house. And Sam does have a thing about taking in strays. Obviously, if it's an emergency, then yes, he can stay with us for a while. But long-term...I would have to talk to Sam." 

"Of course, of course." Rafa sounded hopeful. "He is also welcome at my place over the short-term. But I am thinking it will be long-term, because he still has several years before he graduates high school." 

"I'll talk to Sam tonight, and get back to you as soon as I can. Is this your cell phone number?" he asked, looking at the caller I.D. 

"Yes, it is. You can call me anytime; if I am working or asleep, it will not ring and you can leave a voice mail. I will call back as soon as I am free during 'normal' hours," Rafa explained. 

"Perfect," Lucifer replied. "This is actually my land line; do you want my cell phone number?"

"Please," Rafa said, and Lucifer waited until she was ready to type the number in before rattling it off. 

"I--I'm so glad you called, Raffie. It was really, really great hearing from you," he said once they were done exchanging numbers. 

"I feel the same way," Rafa replied. "I am so very glad you are alive and well, and if it turns out that you can help with little Castiel, too, well...perhaps there is a God and she loves us." 

Lucifer laughed. "Maybe," he agreed. "And if anyone gives you any trouble about transitioning, well, tell them you'll soon have a lawyer for a brother-in-law and that he'll sue the pants off of them." 

It was Rafa's turn to laugh. "I love you, Luci. Be safe, and I will speak with you later."

"I love you too, Raffie. You be safe too. 'Bye!" 

"Goodbye."

Lucifer spent the next hour or so sitting in the chair, staring off into space as he tried to process the conversation he had just had with his br--no, with his sister. His new sister. And he had a brother that he hadn't ever even met. A boy, who might need his help, and soon. 

Lucifer was glad it was early; it would take him all day to figure out how he was going to broach all of this with Sam. Sam was easy to talk to, but this was bound to be a difficult conversation no matter how it went.


	2. Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Lucifer talk. And have sex. Happy Smut Appreciation Day, a day late!

Sam got home late that evening. He always tried to head home around seven, but it was closer to 9:00 when he parked his car in the driveway that Thursday. Stupid work and stupid cases keeping him away from his fiancé. He did love his work, he really did, but right now there was rather a lot of it and not nearly enough Lucifer. You'd think they'd be getting a little bored of each other after over two years together, but it was actually the opposite. Sam craved being near Lucifer, touching him, kissing him, hearing him speak, hearing the noises he made when they were together in bed. 

Of course, it wasn't Lucifer that jumped on him when he opened the door; it was Dean the dog. Somehow they'd managed to teach Michael the importance of not jumping on expensive suits, but Dean refused to learn. Sam carefully ignored him, while petting Michael, who was sitting patiently nearby, his tail wagging up a storm. "See?" Sam said aloud, " _Michael_ gets attention because _he's_ not jumping on me." Dean just whined and jumped even higher, though thankfully, Sam didn't think he was leaving paw prints this time. "Hey!" Sam called out, knowing that Lucifer was somewhere around since his car had been out front, "Sorry I'm late!"

"It's okay!" Lucifer was deeper in the house but approaching the door from the sounds of it. "I'll just take it out on you in bed later." Despite his joke, he had sympathy in his eyes when he came around the corner and gathered Sam into a hug. "Long day, babe?"

"The longest," Sam replied, hugging him back as tightly as he could. 

"Dinner on trays on the couch?" Lucifer proposed with a smile as he pulled slightly away from Sam. 

Sam gave him a thorough kiss before nodding. "God, yes," he groaned. "Marry me."

Lucifer laughed. "I already said I would, silly. You go sit down and I'll get dinner and bring it out." He loved doting on his husband-to-be when he'd had a long day; it made Lucifer feel better about all of the times that Sam had taken care of him.

"Okay," Sam replied, heading for the living room, where he set his briefcase down next to his usual spot on the couch. He then walked over to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a gin and tonic. Sam never asked Lucifer to fetch alcohol for him; between Lucifer's father and his old boyfriend, Zachariah, it brought up bad memories. Very bad memories. Sam always limited himself to one hard drink or a couple of beers when he was around Lucifer. Although he was far from the sort of drunk that Zachariah or Chuck became, he still didn't want to upset his fiancé. It made Vegas weekend with Dean a little awkward when Lucifer tagged along, but Sam would give up alcohol entirely if Lucifer wanted him to. Lucifer himself avoided alcohol, preferring juice or water.

Still, as he settled on the couch and took a sip of his drink, Sam was glad that Lucifer hadn't asked him to give it up. It helped him relax after a day like the one he'd had. Of course, so did his wonderful fiancé, who had come out to set up the trays they used when they ate in the living room. Lucifer had also brought out a couple of glasses of water, setting them first on the coffee table and then on the trays. "You spoil me, Luce," Sam said, giving him a tired smile. 

"Me spoil you? I think it's the other way around, babe," Lucifer replied with a laugh. "Let me go get the plates and silverware." He turned to do just that, and Sam watched him go. Even his libido didn't have enough energy to ogle Lucifer's ass as he walked away, which Sam figured was a bad sign. When dogs stopped eating...

It wasn't long before they were both enjoying Ellen's meatloaf and roasted potatoes with large portions of salad and fresh bread. Lucifer waited to talk about anything more than trivialities until Sam had gotten some food in him. "Sam? I need to talk to you about something. I wish it could wait until a better evening, but it can't," he explained. 

"Okay," Sam sad, giving Lucifer a nod and a small hand gesture to indicate that he should continue. 

"You remember my brothers? Michael and Raphael?" Lucifer asked, waiting for a second nod before continuing. "Well...Raphael--only she's Rafa now, she's transgender and transitioning--called me today."

Sam blinked a little, and tried to kick his brain into working at a slightly faster speed. "Are you all right?" was his immediate concern. 

"Yeah," and Lucifer smiled to show Sam that he meant it, "She's sorry for everything that happened. Plus, she's not welcome in the family either, now, as you can imagine." With that, he launched into a detailed recap of the morning's conversation. Sam nodded at appropriate moments, immediately agreed to meet Lucifer's sister with him as long as they could do it on a weekend, and became concerned when Lucifer explained about Castiel's existence and Rafa's worries surrounding the boy. 

"So...if Raffie's right, he could need a place to stay for a few years, until he graduates high school. I said he was welcome to stay here for the short term, because I didn't think you'd mind, but I said I had to talk to you about anything longer than an emergency stay," Lucifer explained. 

Sam wiped salad dressing off of his face with a napkin as he nodded again. "Of course, he's welcome to stay here in an emergency. But we do have to be careful--if he runs away without his parent's knowledge, especially with Rafa's help, they might claim we kidnapped him." 

Lucifer paled slightly. "I hadn't even thought of that," he admitted. "I had assumed that Mom and Dad wouldn't want him in the house."

"Don't worry about it, Luce. We'll make sure we do everything legally." Sam was wishing he'd paid a little more attention in his family law classes, but he at least knew whom to reach out to. "Tomorrow, I want you to call Meg's office and see if you can speak with her. Explain the situation, and see if she could help or, if not, if she could recommend a lawyer who's an expert in child custody cases. I suspect we'll need time to gather information before we could make a case for taking Castiel away, especially if there isn't much or any physical abuse." Meg Masters was a lawyer that Lucifer had worked with before, when he was suing his old boyfriend Zachariah for money he had earned by selling Lucifer's paintings. And Lucifer himself, though Lucifer really didn't like to think about that time in his life. Even though he'd met Sam when he'd been working at a truck stop. "Then, you can call Rafa back and let her know what you found out and what we'll need to do, and maybe tell Castiel to do."

"Okay," Lucifer replied, "I'll call Meg first thing in the morning." They had finished eating, so he got up and took the dishes to the sink before walking around behind Sam and starting to massage his boyfriend's shoulders. "Soo...if we can get Castiel away from my parents, do you think he could stay with us? While he finishes high school?"

Sam took a deep breath and leaned forward, giving Lucifer's clever fingers more access to his back. "I...don't know, Luce. It's a big responsibility, and right now...I'm not sure I'd make the best parent for a teenager, as much as I'm working. Let's wait until we know if it's even a possibility to decide. Maybe in the meantime, we can brainstorm ways we could make it work if we had to." He then leaned back, so he could tilt his head back and look up at Lucifer. "I promise, I'll think about it, sweetheart. I'm not saying no."

"I know," Lucifer said, smiling down at Sam before he leaned down to steal a quick kiss. "God, Sam. Could you be any more amazing?"

"Depends," Sam grinned back. "If you get that knot out of my right shoulder, I think I could take you to bed and we could see. But I'm not promising anything; it's been a long day. I might fall asleep before you finish," he teased. 

Lucifer laughed, and started searching for the knot with his fingers. "This one?" he asked finally, pressing on a spot that felt a bit harder than the rest of Sam's muscles. 

"Ahh! Yeah. That one," Sam replied, gritting his teeth. "Ow."

"Let's see what I can do," Lucifer said, leaning down again to kiss Sam's chestnut locks. "Just relax, babe."

"Easy for you to say," Sam grumbled, but he leaned forward again to give Lucifer more room to work.

Lucifer soon had that knot and a few others worked out, and walked back around the couch to offer Sam his hand. "I believe I was promised sex in exchange for my magic fingers?"

Sam laughed, took his hand, and stood up. The dogs leaped up too, of course, hoping that they'd be let outside. "Luce will let you out later, you two," Sam told them, as Lucifer led him toward the staircase. Sam felt a little guilty because it had been a while since he'd done anything more than take the dogs for a run--Lucifer fed them, let them out when they needed to go, and walked them in the afternoon.

Lucifer's mind was on his gorgeous boyfriend, not the dogs. He led him upstairs and into the bedroom, closed the door in the dogs' faces, turned on a dim light, and then pushed Sam up against the door and kissed him. Sam obligingly opened his mouth and let Lucifer take control. That was one of the reasons they worked so well together; on days like this, when Sam was exhausted, Lucifer would take over in the bedroom and make the decisions. On the other hand, when Lucifer had been up all night at an art gallery and was the one who was dragging his feet, Sam would take control and tell him what to do. 

Lucifer slid his tongue against Sam's for a time, one hand gently pulling Sam's hair and the other one helping him keep Sam pinned against the door. After a time, though, his hands began to wander, and he started undressing the taller man while he kissed him. It was difficult, with Sam up against the door like that, but Lucifer had long ago mastered the art of stripping his gorgeous boyfriend out of a suit. Sam, meanwhile, was reciprocating, pulling off Lucifer's T-shirt and then trying to unzip his jeans. 

Lucifer pulled away long enough to slide Sam's slacks and boxers down his legs and then pressed himself against Sam again, rolling his hips into the brunette's growing erection and kissing along Sam's neck and upper chest. Sam was moaning, but he retaliated by taking Lucifer's nipple piercings in hand and twisting them, causing Lucifer to let out a long, drawn-out groan. Those piercings had made his nipples much more sensitive, which made it difficult to talk Sam into getting anything similar--not that Lucifer was coherent enough to follow that line of logic. 

It was Sam's turn to make interesting noises when he pushed Lucifer's jeans off of his hips and encountered the feeling of satin. Surprised, he pulled back and pushed Lucifer away slightly so he could take in the sight of his boyfriend wearing light blue satin panties that matched his eyes. Lucifer gave him a cocky grin, stepped out of his jeans, and did a little twirl. Sam's breath caught in his throat. "One of these days, you're going to kill me with these surprises of yours," he murmured, stepping closer so he could run his hands over the garment, which was cut for a man. Lucifer groaned as Sam squeezed his ass and then started pushing him toward the bed. "Please tell me I can fuck you in these," Sam murmured, pressing his lips to Lucifer's throat.

"That's the idea, babe," Lucifer responded cheekily, letting himself be walked back toward the bed. "Mmm, god, I love you."

"I love you too." When they made it to the bed, Sam spun Lucifer around and bent him over, so that his hands were resting on the bed. Sam trailed his tongue down Lucifer's spine, pressing open-mouthed kisses against it occasionally, and then slowly pulled the panties down over Lucifer's ass. With his teeth. It was he who was groaning, though, when he found out what was underneath them. "Thought of everything, didn't you?" he panted, tapping on the plug he found in Lucifer's ass. 

Lucifer moaned in the affirmative, and wiggled like a puppy. Sam stood, and then grabbed the plug and began playing with it, smiling as he heard Lucifer falling apart underneath him as he took his time working the plug out and then slid slowly into Lucifer. 

"Please, Sam," Lucifer moaned, rocking his hips back into the other man's to try to encourage him to start moving. 

"Mmm, not yet, sweetie." Sam reached around to play with Lucifer's piercings, slipping one hand into the satin panties to play with the one at the end of Lucifer's cock. He waited until Lucifer was a begging, pleading mess before he started thrusting his hips forward into his finacé, loving the feel of the satin against his skin. Sam pushed the panties down on the other side as well, in the hopes that Lucifer wouldn't completely ruin them when he came. 

Sam started at a slow, steady pace, but quickly lost his resolve and started fucking Lucifer faster, as he decorated his back and shoulders with hickeys. "Yes, oh god, yes," was about all Lucifer was capable of saying. Sam was so glad Ellen and Jo had their own place, because both he and his fiancé tended to be loud. Sam continued to play with Lucifer's piercings, until he felt the other man starting to tense. He bit down on Lucifer's ear, then growled, "Cum for me, Luce." 

Lucifer shouted Sam's name as he did just that, and Sam waited until his orgasm was completely over before allowing himself release. His field of vision narrowed, and when next he was able to think, he found that they had fallen down onto the bed and rolled onto their sides. He slowly pulled out of Lucifer, who hissed through his teeth, and then climbed to his feet after a minute or two to start cleaning up. 

Sam retrieved a washcloth from the bathroom, wet it, and returned, only to find Lucifer had rolled onto his back and was fast asleep, snoring loudly. Sam chuckled softly and then cleaned Lucifer and the duvet up as best he could before grabbing the plug and heading back into the bathroom. The two were fastidious about not leaving toys and other evidence of their activities out for the maid, Jo, to take care of. 

Sam found himself thinking about everything that Lucifer had told him earlier. He was sure they could come up with some out of the box solutions if they had to take Castiel in--perhaps Rafa could find a job in the area and come live with them and co-parent?--but there was another, easier, solution, which he had actually been considering for a while. He knew Lucifer wouldn't like it, especially if he thought that Sam was doing it because of him and his brother, but...it would solve so many other problems in addition to this new one. 

Sam continued to ponder as he tucked Lucifer more fully into the bed and then left the bedroom to take care of the dogs. He threw a ball for them in the backyard after they'd done their business, chuckling at how Michael would always grab it immediately and run back, while Dean would still be running in circles, trying to find where it had landed. The dogs followed him back upstairs when they were done playing and eating, and leaped into the bed to create a snuggle pile. Normally, Sam would fall asleep quite quickly after the sort of day he'd had, but he found himself thinking about Lucifer, Rafa, Castiel and his own future long into the night.


	3. Saturday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Lucifer meet Rafa in person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here there be angst. Consider yourself forewarned :). 
> 
> Also, this chapter started getting really long, so I split it into two chapters. Surprise, surprise, I know XD.

Lucifer did as Sam suggested, and called Meg's office the next morning. It turned out that she knew a great deal about child custody laws from her work with domestic abuse victims, and was able to give him some advice on what evidence they would need before they could make a case against Castiel's parents. He told her that he and Sam would happily hire her if they decided to pursue the case, and then let her get on with her day. 

He left a voice mail for Rafa, and then sent an e-mail to Sam with the information. Lucifer then headed out to Mountain View Cemetery, where he planned to spend the morning painting. It had been designed by the same artist that had created Central Park in New York City, and he wanted to try to capture some of the monuments and landscaping in the right light. Tonight he'd work the late shift at Benny's restaurant, but he had plenty of time before he had to be there.

Around 11:00, Lucifer's cell phone rang. It was Rafa, calling to discuss Lucifer's voice mail message and to set up a time to meet. They settled on the following Saturday afternoon, when both he and Sam would be home and Rafa wasn't working. He gave Rafa his and Sam's address, and then went back to his painting. 

\--------------------------------------

Sam spent the entire week debating with himself about when to talk to Lucifer about the decision he was contemplating. He had finally decided that he should sit down and talk it out with his fiancé before Rafa came to visit when he pulled himself out of his own head and realized that Lucifer was getting increasingly nervous about the upcoming visit. Sam therefore changed his mind, and decided to take care of Lucifer for the time being instead of having a serious conversation with him. After all, it would take them lots of time to gather evidence of the abuse, so it wasn't as if Castiel would be joining them any time soon. 

The morning of Rafa's visit, Sam found an anxious Lucifer in the kitchen trying to follow Ellen's instructions for making party trays and looking like he was moments away from an anxiety attack. Lucifer hadn't had one of those since the trial. "Hey," Sam said gently, walking over and wrapping his arms around Lucifer from behind, "Luce, it's going to be all right."

"I _know_ that, Sam, I just--" at which point Lucifer was suddenly in tears. "Fuck," he swore, angrily wiping at them with his sleeve. "What if I accidentally call her brother? Or what if she agrees with what our parents did? Or-or what if we do take Castiel, and we can't control him? Or he gets arrested? Or--what if it turns out that I'm a bad father? Like m-mine?" It was clear that the last of these what-ifs was giving him the most trouble, as he broke down sobbing at that point. 

"Hey. Hey. Deep breaths." Sam took the written instructions out of his hand and set them on the counter before turning Lucifer around and letting him tuck his face into Sam's neck. "Deep breaths for me, okay?" He just held Lucifer for a time, letting him cry it out and murmuring soothing words before he felt that Lucifer might actually be able to listen to him. "Let's take those one at a time, okay? I don't think Rafa will be too upset if you accidentally call her brother. Everyone makes mistakes, right? And she was your brother for a long time."

Sam waited until Lucifer nodded his head slightly to continue. "She's already told you she doesn't agree with what your parents did to you. If she did, she wouldn't be trying to get Castiel out of a similar situation." This time, Lucifer grunted in affirmation. "As for controlling a teenager, well...that's not easy. We'll have to think very hard about whether or not we're up for the challenge before we decide to do it. But we're going to be like any parents; if we decide to do this, we're going to do our best and that's all we can do." 

He squeezed Lucifer hard, and then set his hands on the other man's shoulders and pushed him back slightly so that Sam could see the blonde's face. "As for the other--Lucifer, you would make an _amazing_ father. You could never do what your father did to a child; you're not capable of it. If anything, we should be worried about the poor kid having _me_ as a dad," he joked lightly, reaching up to help Lucifer wipe his tears away. "But whatever happens, we aren't going to have to make a decision today, and we'll have plenty of time to sit and talk it all over. Okay?"

Lucifer nodded, his face red and splotchy and his eyes red from crying. He turned to grab a paper towel to use as a tissue, and then threw it away. He made a grab for the instructions, but Sam pulled them away again. "Let me do this, Luce," he said. "Why don't you go upstairs and take a nice, long bath, hmm? You can use one of your peppermint bath bombs; you know how they relax you. I'll come up later and make sure you're okay." 

"But you need to work," Lucifer protested. "And you can't cook."

"No, but all I have to do is follow instructions and cut things up," Sam assured him. "I can do that. And I have some time; I don't have to work right this second. Please, Luce? I haven't seen you this upset in a while. Go relax and I'll take care of everything we still have to do." 

Lucifer sighed, but finally acquiesced non-verbally and gave Sam another long hug before heading toward the stairs. Relieved, Sam settled in to follow Ellen's instructions. Anyone could chop vegetables, right? Right.

\----------------------------------------

"What the -fuck- did you do to these peppers?" Lucifer asked later, as they were carrying the trays into the living room. Dean and Michael were in the backyard, so as not to terrify their guest, who had texted to let them know she was on her way. 

"I don't know, okay?" Sam grumbled, giving Lucifer a patented bitch face. He hated being bad at things, even if they were as simple as chopping vegetables. He resolved to take a cooking class--if he ever had the time. 

"Benny would fire you on the spot," Lucifer responded, unaffected by the look. He had been around Sam long enough now to know that Sam wasn't ever /truly/ upset when he made that face--he was just annoyed, or couldn't think of a good comeback. 

"Well, it's a good thing I don't work for Benny," Sam shot back, as he placed his tray, which held pita bread and homemade (by Ellen, and therefore also edible) hummus. He set down some napkins and small plates, and then took his usual seat on the couch. He waited until Lucifer had sat next to him to place an arm around the shorter man. Leaning in to give Lucifer a kiss on the cheek, he observed, "Mmm. You smell like peppermint. Are you all right?"

"I'm...better," Lucifer said, turning to look at Sam. "I'm not great, but I'm better." He clasped his hands in front of him, betraying the fact that the bath hadn't completely relaxed him. 

"You'll be fine," Sam assured him, as the dogs began to bark, signalling that a car had pulled up in their driveway. "Here we go," he said, removing his arm and then standing up before giving Lucifer a hand up. He walked to the door, Lucifer trailing behind him, as the doorbell rang. Sam opened the door, smiling. "Hello," he greeted their guest, and then stepped back so Lucifer and Rafa could see one another. "Please, come in."

Rafa and Lucifer stared at each other without saying anything for a few moments, and then both moved simultaneously to close the distance between each other and wrap their arms around the other. As they did so, Sam took in Rafa's appearance. She had straight, light brown hair that she had let loose and was brushing her shoulders, and blue eyes that were quite similar to Lucifer's. She was a few inches shorter than her brother, and wearing a bright green dress and makeup. She had a grey bag over her shoulder which was big enough to carry paperwork around in, and her nails were painted green. "Luci," she finally choked out. Both of them had started to weep. 

"Raffie," Lucifer replied, in an equally rough voice. "-God- it's good to see you. You look amazing!"

"So do you!" Rafa replied, still hugging her brother tightly. 

Sam waited until the two finally broke apart (which took a few minutes), and then smiled again and extended his hand. "Sam Winchester," he introduced himself. 

"Rafa Shurley," she replied, shaking Sam's hand and wiping away tears with her other hand. Lucifer immediately went to fetch some tissues for her. "Although I am not sure I'm going to keep the last name."

"Understandable," Sam replied. "Please, come in, make yourself at home. Can I get you something to drink?"

"She wants some of that grapefruit-papaya juice I bought the other day," Lucifer ordered, though he glanced at Rafa for confirmation. She smiled through her tears, and nodded. "She always loved juice as much as I did," he explained. 

Sam just chuckled and went to find the requested beverage. "We would always finish the container before Mikey could have any," Rafa replied, taking a seat across from Lucifer. "Remember?"

"Yeah, and then he'd get mad," Lucifer laughed, taking his seat on the couch and gesturing for Rafa to take a seat across from him. "Remember the one time Mom told us we had to save some, but there was barely any left already, so we added water to make it look like there was more?"

"I had forgotten about that!" Rafa replied, as she sat down. "God, the look on Mikey's face." Lucifer mimicked said look, and they were both laughing when Sam returned with three glasses of juice. He set one down in front of each of them, and then sat down next to Lucifer with his own glass.

"I'm so happy to see you, Raffie," Lucifer said. "I _never_ thought that one of my--well, any of my family members would ever want anything to do with me." 

"Me either, at least, after I told them what I was planning to do." Rafa rolled her eyes. "They said that they would pray for my soul, even though it was going to be damned for eternity." 

Lucifer shook his head. "Sounds like they haven't changed." 

"No, but I had been hoping that Michael--oh well. Who knows, I changed, maybe he will too someday," Rafa said with a rueful shake of her head. Realizing they were leaving Sam out of the conversation, she turned to the other man. "So, Sam, Luci has been texting me all week about how amazing you are. At this point, I am not sure you could ever live up to his description of you. You are a lawyer?"

Sam blushed as Lucifer laughed, but nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "I mostly do medical malpractice, which I'm sure you're not a fan of, but there are cases where the doctors really have done something wrong, and those are the only ones I take. Plus some wrongful death cases and the like." 

"How did you meet?" Rafa asked the couple, as she sipped at her juice.

Sam immediately deferred to Lucifer, letting him decide how much of the story to tell his sister. Lucifer took a deep breath, and explained, "Well, it's a long story, and not all of it's good. But--oh, shit. Sam? Would they bring the prostitution up at a hearing if we wanted to be Castiel's parents?"

Sam made a face. "Shit. Maybe. If their lawyers are good, it's a matter of public record. I hadn't even thought of that." 

"Prostitution?" Rafa interjected, looking back and forth between the two, her eyes a bit wide. 

Lucifer took a deep breath, and then fixed his gaze on the coffee table. He told Rafa the story of what had happened to him after their father had thrown him out of the house; while he didn't go into all of the gory details, he didn't hesitate to mention the things that might come up in a custody hearing, either--i.e., the prostitution. 

Sam put his arm back around Lucifer, and held him tightly to his side as he told the story. Sam and Rafa occasionally exchanged distressed looks, and Rafa had to dip into the tissues again. "...so, Sam kind of saved my life. Twice," Lucifer finished, looking away from the others. 

"Oh Luci, I am so sorry," Rafa replied quietly, when he was done. She reached across the table, and took his hand in hers. 

"Will it mean we can't take Castiel?" Lucifer asked, squeezing her hand and then turning to Sam for an answer. 

"Hopefully not," Sam replied. "It will depend on the judge, and how their lawyers present it...remember, we have court records that show that you were coerced into doing it, which should count as extenuating circumstances. And you haven't been in any trouble at all since then. I suppose it depends on how bad the abuse is in his current home, and whether or not the judge thinks you'd ever do it again." He had noticed that it had become more a matter of 'when' they took in Castiel, not 'if,' but he was hardly surprised. His fiancé had a big heart, even if he was sometimes reluctant to show it because of everything that Zachariah had done to him. "We can discuss it with Meg when we meet with her; I'm sure she'll have some ideas about how best to deal with the issue."

"Speaking of the lawyer...Meg, you said?" Rafa waited until Sam nodded. "Well...I should tell you, Castiel is somewhat odd. I suspect he has obsessive-compulsive disorder. He was taught not to lie, so he can be brutally honest, to the point of having no tact. The reason I tell you this is that when I told him he would need to document the abuse...he said he had already been doing so in a journal. For the past few years. He has been scanning the journal at school, and he sent me electronic copies of the pages. I printed them out." She released Lucifer's hand and reached down, and took a blue binder full of neatly-arranged paper out of her bag. It seemed that Castiel might not be the only one in the family with OCD tendencies. After a moment of staring at the binder, she made to pass it across the table, to Lucifer. 

Lucifer eyed the binder, then put his hands up and stood. "I--I can't. Not right now. I'm sorry, I just can't." He knew that reading about Castiel's abuse would give him flashbacks to his own, and he was already not in a great place mentally. 

"Luce," Sam stood to give him a gentle hug, and then slowly released him. "It's okay. You don't have to look at anything right now. Why don't I look at it, and you stay here with Rafa and chat. Do you want me to take it somewhere else?" he asked, gently accepting the binder from Lucifer's sister. 

"...Yeah. Could you? Is it okay if he reads it somewhere else?" Lucifer asked Rafa. 

There was understanding in Rafa's eyes. "Of course," she replied, "I brought it for you to take to the lawyer you mentioned." It looked as if she wanted to say something else, to Sam, perhaps a warning about the contents, but then she glanced at Lucifer and closed her mouth. 

"All right. You two talk about something--actually, have you invited her to the wedding yet, Luce?" Sam asked as he tucked the binder under an arm. He knew that the wedding was both a more pleasant subject, and one that it was hard to get Lucifer to /stop/ talking about. 

"No, I haven't--would you like to come?" Lucifer asked Rafa shyly, as he sat back down. "We would love to have you there."

"Of course!" she replied, pulling out her phone. "When is it? I'll have to warn the hospital so they do not schedule me to work then." 

Smiling, Sam headed back into his office to look through Castiel's journal, hearing his fiancé start telling Rafa all about their wedding plans.


	4. Saturday, continued

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam goes through Castiel's journal, and then he, Lucifer, and Rafa come up with a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the rest of this chapter for you :). Exams start this week, so please bear with me; I may be a little slow to update.

Sam sat down in his comfortable office chair (he'd had it made special; when you were as large as he was, that sort of thing was worth it) and then opened the binder to a random page, not quite sure what he was going to find inside. He immediately gave a low whistle--when Rafa had said that Castiel was 'odd,' that had apparently been an understatement. He was looking at what had to be the world's neatest, most efficient journal. It was even written in shorthand, which took him a few minutes to figure out. 

**11/17/2016 15:52 CAS- >NS Y ds Bbl sy wmn r ncln? Thy rnt, r thy?  
** **11/17/2016 15:54 NS- >CAS ?ng wrd f Gd s sn, u wll g 2 hll Rpnt b4 u nd p lk brthrs dmd 4 ll trnity Gt t f my sght n g wsh ur mth t wth sp rt nw  
** **11/17/2016 21:27 CES- >CAS Ur mthr tld m u wr ?ng wrd f Gd Hw dr u u lttl snnr I wll bt ths ?s t f u f ts lst thng I d  
** **11/17/2016 21:28 CES strck CAS w/ blt n bttcks pnts up 10x**

Sam's stomach turned when he decoded this short passage. Castiel (whose middle name must start with an A) had asked his mother (NS=Naomi Shurley) why the Bible said that women were unclean. His mother had replied that questioning the word of God was a sin and that he would go to hell and suggested he repent before ending up like his brothers, damned for all eternity. She had then told him to get out of her sight and wash his mouth out with soap. Later that evening, his father (whose middle name must start with an E) had come to him, explaining that his mother had told him that Castiel was questioning the word of God. He told Castiel that he would beat it out of him if it was the last thing he did, and then struck his child ten times with his belt.

Sam flipped to another page, and then another, and then another. Sam's dad hadn't exactly been a shining example of fatherhood, but clearly he and Dean had been luckier than the Shurleys. There was much more emotional abuse than physical--'sinner' was one of the tamest things his parents called Castiel on a regular basis--but he had no doubt this journal would be enough to convince any halfway-sane judge to at least look into allegations of abuse. His heart broke over and over again while reading about what the teen had gone through--and then broke one more time, when he realized that Lucifer and Rafa had probably gone through exactly the same thing when they were little. No wonder Lucifer's self-esteem had been so poor when Sam had first met him. He made a mental note to tell Lucifer how special he was and how much he loved him. Sure, Sam tried to do that every day, but it wouldn't hurt to say it again. 

Sam read through as much as he could handle (which was less than he would have thought), and then pulled his laptop over and sent a quick e-mail to Meg, briefly describing the contents of the journal and saying that he and Lucifer would like to hire her to try to get custody away from Chuck and Naomi. He promised to have a copy of the journal made and sent to her as soon as possible, and suggested a few days and times in the next week they might all meet to discuss it. Only after he had hit 'send' did he realize that he had made the decision to accept Castiel into their little family--if they could get him away from his parents. 

He sat for a time, thinking and listening to the conversation and laughter that was coming from the living room. In the end, he couldn't fault his decisions--any of them. Sam left the binder next to his laptop, stood up, and made his way out into the living room. 

Something of what he had read must have showed on his face, because both Lucifer and Rafa went from laughing over something to giving him nearly twin sympathetic looks. Lucifer stood and gathered him into a hug. "I'm sorry," he said.

Sam shook his head as he returned the hug. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he replied. "You are amazing and wonderful and such a good person in spite of everything that's happened to you, and I love you so much." Lucifer smiled as he pulled back and the two sat down again, but Rafa looked as if she might cry again--which was probably why she waited for Sam to continue rather than interjecting. After Sam sat down, he nodded to her. "That journal should be more than enough for a judge to order an investigation. They'll probably have a forensic psychologist speak with Castiel, and possibly his parents. The judge might also assign Castiel a lawyer of his own, to ascertain what his best interests are. They'll probably send social workers to Castiel's home, and if-- _when_ we ask for Castiel to be placed here, the social workers will undoubtedly come speak with us and go through our house."

"We're taking him?" Lucifer's face lit up. Sam had seen that look before--it was the same one he'd had when they'd decided to rescue Dean and Michael the dogs. Rafa looked considerably better as well, although if truth be told she still looked a little teary. 

"Well, we have a /lot/ of talking to do first," Sam replied with a smile, taking Lucifer's hand and squeezing it. "Not to mention some planning, redecorating... But yes. As long as Castiel has no objections to it, I don't see why we can't. We have plenty of room, and God knows we can't be worse than your parents."

"Thank you!" Lucifer cried, throwing his arms around Sam's neck and chanting 'thank you' over and over again into his ear. Sam just laughed and rubbed his boyfriend's back. 

"Yes, thank you, Sam," Rafa said, smiling through tears. "This means so much to me as well. By the way, I am more than happy to help with the lawyer's fees, especially since this was all my idea."

"Thank you, but we'll be happy to cover it," Sam replied, still dealing with a clingy boyfriend. "I'm just so glad that you cared enough to bring this to someone's attention. I'm sure Castiel will be grateful eventually, though I doubt he's going to enjoy what he'll have to go through over the next few months." 

"I am not sure of that. He is a very strange child," Rafa replied, reaching for a new tissue. "Speaking of that, I can promise that everything he wrote down happened. He does not exaggerate or lie, and anyone who speaks to him will not doubt his sincerity." 

"That's good," Sam said, finally disentangling himself from his boyfriend. "I had assumed that, based on what you said earlier. Besides...I don't think any kid could make that up."

"No," Rafa replied, making a face. "Likely not. Damn," she added, wiping at her eyes. "I had no idea what women had to go through all the time until I started taking female hormones. I swear, yesterday I started crying when I saw an American Express commercial with a male couple in it just because they were being inclusive." Her remark dissolved the tension as the men laughed, and the conversation turned to lighter topics. 

Before Rafa left, and after meeting Dean and Michael ("His fur does look a great deal like Mikey's hair," she agreed), she told them that Castiel had invited her to the award ceremony for a competition called the Academic Decathlon in Sacramento, thinking that his parents wouldn't go. 

"Let's talk to Meg first," Sam suggested, as they walked her to the door. "It might not look good for us to meet him without his parents' permission, even if he wants to meet us and we want to meet him. You can explain to him that it's a legal thing. It's also why I think it's best that you don't give him our e-mail addresses for now." Though if the kid was anywhere near as smart as Rafa claimed, he'd be able to Google both of them in no time flat. 

"All right," Rafa agreed, giving Lucifer a last hug before giving Sam one as well. "You know, I had planned to tell you that if you ever hurt my brother, I would kill you, but I am not sure you are actually capable of hurting him. I would be extremely jealous of my brother if I did not prefer women." 

Sam just laughed as he returned the hug. "Thanks, I think," he said back. "It was great to meet you, Rafa."

"You as well. Goodbye, Luci, Sam," she said as she left, giving them a little wave as she headed for her car. 

"'Bye!" they both called after her, waving before they closed the door. Lucifer immediately went over and collapsed on the couch, a typical introvert, while Sam began picking up the trays so that the dogs wouldn't get into them when he let them in, which he did as soon as everything was picked up. The dogs came galloping in, running around him and then around Lucifer's feet as if they'd been banished to the backyard for years, not a few hours. Sam gave them a few pats before he made a new glass of juice for Lucifer and poured a glass of water for himself. He took these out and set one down in front of Lucifer before sitting down next to him. Dean tried to climb in his lap, but Sam pushed him back down onto the floor--the two were much too big to be lapdogs, although they thought they were. 

Lucifer took a long swallow of his juice after he finished rubbing Michael's head, and then rearranged himself on the couch so his head was in Sam's lap. "Talk now?" he asked. "Or later?"

Sam idly ran his fingers through Lucifer's short hair as he looked down at him. "Depends, sweetie," he said, knowing that Lucifer tended to get drained by both strong emotions and interacting with people. "How are you feeling?"

"'M okay, I think," Lucifer replied. "That got intense, a few times. But I'm getting better at dealing with it all. ...Did you mean it when you said that we could take in Castiel?"

Sam hated that Lucifer had to ask, that his insecurities prevented him from taking good things at face value, but he immediately reassured the other man. "Yes, of course. As long as you're ready to take that step, then so am I. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't completely terrified of becoming a parent, even a foster parent, but I think we can do it. And he really needs someone to give him the love that you and Rafa never got."

"You're scared?" Lucifer's tone was incredulous. "Sam, you're so patient and-and kind! You'll make an amazing father!"

"So will you, Luce," Sam replied, leaning down to kiss Lucifer's forehead. "I have faith in you. If you don't have faith in yourself, I'm sure Garth can help you find some. I know I'll be talking to Brady about all of this." 

Lucifer was silent for a few moments, as he tried to digest that, but finally nodded at Sam. "What do we need to talk about?"

"Well," Sam replied, "We'll have to talk about how we want to parent and which guest room we're going to convert into his bedroom, but I have something important to tell you first. I want you to know that I was thinking about this even before we decided to take in Castiel, but..." he took a deep breath, "I'm thinking of switching to a different firm."

"But Sam!" Lucifer immediately sat up and turned to his boyfriend, a distressed look on his face. "You can't do that, not for us! You won't make partner in a top 1000 law firm! And that's all you ever wanted to do!"

"Shhh," Sam said, halting his protests with a raised hand. "Just listen to me until I finish, okay? Then we can discuss it, I promise, and if you still don't like the idea, I'll think about changing my mind. All right?"

"All right," Lucifer grumbled. He still wasn't used to interacting with someone who could be reasoned with, but he quieted, even if he did fold his arms across his chest and give Sam a Look. 

"Luce, trying to make partner at this firm is killing me," Sam said. "I can't be as healthy as I want. I can't come home to you at a reasonable hour. I work all weekend, and half the time after you go to sleep, I get up to work some more. It's /not/ healthy. And yes, I thought I wanted this, very much, but it's like when you're a little kid and say you want to be a firefighter or a police officer without having any idea of what that really means, you know? Besides, I've been thinking for a long time that I'm not really helping people as much as I wanted. Someone like Meg gets to make a real difference, but me...sometimes I feel like I'm just a glorified amublance chaser." 

Lucifer relaxed a little as Sam spoke, because it really did sound as if Sam had thought about this for a while. His fiancé did work too much, despite how much he got paid. Still, he wasn't going to let Sam help him make his own dreams come true while he gave up on his own. 

Sam took a deep breath, and then continued. "It's going to take me a few more years of working like this before I could even be considered for partner at the firm I work for now. By then, Castiel will have graduated. It'd make you like a single parent to him." Sam held up his hand again to forestall any additional protests. "I've been looking around, and I found a firm that's pretty new, but that seems to have everything I want. More reasonable working hours, the ability to take on worthy cases _pro bono_ that can count toward making partner, even the chance to make partner faster, I think. It's not on any Forbes list, but they seem to be truly dedicated to making a difference in peoples' lives."

"That does sound pretty amazing," Lucifer admitted. "You really wouldn't have to work for so long and hard to make partner there?"

"I don't think so. I haven't contacted them yet, but it's one of the first questions I plan on asking. And even if I don't make partner...really, it's just something to tell your parents about so they're proud of you, plus a raise. My parents are already proud of me," Sam explained. "And between us, we make plenty of money. I did some calculations; I'm sure I'd have to take a pay cut to transfer to the new firm, but honestly I doubt we'll even notice...and I should be able to work my way up to making what I'm making now in a few years. So...what do you think?" he asked, picking up his glass of water and taking a long drink. 

Lucifer took a few moments to consider the idea. "So, you...wouldn't make partner in a fancy law firm. But if this other place will hire you, you can eventually make partner there and do more of what you want to do. You wouldn't make as much money, but you'd be happier?" He wanted to make sure he had everything straight. 

"Hopefully," Sam replied. "I'd have more time, for you and Castiel and the dogs, but I'd also be making a bigger difference, I think. And I'd have time to take longer runs, increase my stamina." He gave Lucifer a salacious grin. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Lucifer just made a face at his boyfriend. "Like you don't already have enough," he teased back. "Just...you're sure you're not just doing this because of Castiel? And me?"

"No, sweetie, I'm not," Sam promised. "Like I said, I've been thinking about this for a while. It's just...meeting you, and learning what Castiel--well, all of you--have gone through...I know I can put my talents to better uses. And I'd like to." 

"And you're sure this is something you want?" Lucifer pressed, though he was already leaning up against Sam again. Lucifer very much enjoyed physical contact. 

"Yeah. The more I've thought about it, the more I think it's the best path forward for me," Sam replied, putting an arm around his boyfriend. "Of course, I won't make a final decision until I have more information, but I didn't want to talk with the new firm until after I'd discussed it with you." 

"If you decide you want to do it, then I want you to do it," Lucifer said after a short pause. He was quiet a little longer, and then he added, "...If Castiel comes, do we have to stop having sex?"

Sam laughed. "No, but we might have to look into soundproofing. We're both pretty loud." 

"Can I take a nap now? Like this?" was Lucifer's next question. 

Sam sighed. "Just let me get my laptop first; I haven't given this firm my notice yet, so I've still got a lot of work to do." He stood up, stepped carefully over Dean and Michael, and then went to retrieve his laptop so he could work while his fiancé napped against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I haven't said it before, do as Sam and Lucifer did...adopt, don't shop. There are so many animals in shelters looking for a furrever home, and believe me, they make the best pets, paws-down! If you're not capable of taking in an animal, considering volunteering if you can--your local shelter (and all the animals) will love you forever.


	5. Progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Progress is made toward several goals.

After that, things moved fairly quickly. They met with Meg on Thursday. When she came into the conference room, she found Lucifer setting up a computer so that Sam and Rafa would be able to Skype into the meeting. She watched him with a smile on her face as she set her notes down in front of the chair next to his so that they would both show up on the screen. "You know," she drawled, "A couple of years ago, you barely knew how to work a computer. Now look at you."

Lucifer blushed, but smiled at her. "I've learned a lot since then," he told the shorter blonde with a shrug. 

"You look amazing, angel," she replied. He had found the nickname odd at first, but now he kind of liked it. "Is Sam treating you right?"

"You know he is," Lucifer responded, but he was still smiling. They went through this almost every time they met, and it was a familiar dance. 

"Well, if he ever doesn't, you know you can come to me, right? Even though Sam and I are friends?" This was what Meg always really wanted him to understand--that she was a safe person to come to if something ever did go wrong. 

"I know, Meg," he replied, as he worked on getting Skype up and running. "Thank you." 

"You're welcome. You know, usually when I have repeat customers, it's because someone hasn't gotten away from their abuser. I'm glad you came to me, though. Clarence needs help just as much as you did," Meg said, taking her seat. "Hello, Sam," she added, as his face popped up on the computer screen. 

"Hello, Meg," Sam responded. "How are the kids?" He said this at roughly the same time that Lucifer asked, "Clarence?" 

"They're both doing great, Sam. Cory is learning his ABCs, and Lea was just in the cutest dance recital." Turning back to Lucifer, who had just made Rafa's face pop up on the screen next to Sam's, she added, "Well, I couldn't call Castiel angel too. That's your nickname, darlin'." 

Lucifer conceded the point with another shrug, and then sat down next to Meg. Meanwhile, Sam introduced Rafa to Meg and vice-versa, and they began to discuss the case. Meg quickly assured Lucifer that if the other side brought up the prostitution, she'd point out that the reason he had done it in the first place was the exact same parents they were trying to get Castiel away from. ("In fact, I kind of hope they do give me that opening, angel, because I will make them regret it.") She did explain, however, that the process of getting Castiel away from his parents might happen faster than the process of Sam and Lucifer being appointed legal guardians of Castiel, which may mean time in a temporary foster home, or with Michael, who lived closest. None of them were happy with that idea, but they understood its necessity. They had been hoping to allow Castiel to finish the school year in his current school anyway (at least, before they saw the contents of the journal), and neither Rafa nor Lucifer thought that Michael would hurt Castiel if he were placed there temporarily.

Meg also explained to them that it was likely, no matter what, that Chuck and Naomi would be granted some visitation rights, although she would do her best to argue that they have supervised visitation only. In terms of meeting Castiel, she said that they should wait for now, and that she would have CPS arrange supervised visits with them once the judge had made a temporary order. The final item they discussed was whether or not to warn Michael about what was going to happen. The discussion quickly became contentious, with Rafa arguing that they should tell Michael and Lucifer saying that they shouldn't because he might warn Chuck and Naomi. Meg finally broke in to point out that if they truly doubted whether or not Michael would support Castiel over his parents, they shouldn't be suggesting that Castiel stay with him in the first place. 

This led to a slightly more thoughtful discussion, and eventually, they all agreed that it was best for Rafa to contact Michael and make him aware of the abuse and the fact that they were going to go to a judge about it. They knew Michael might eventually try to convince the judge to give him custody of Castiel instead of Sam and Lucifer, but it was a risk they had to take to make sure Castiel would be well over the short term. 

Meg had already scheduled a hearing with a judge for the following week, and assured them that they did not need to be there for it--they would need to be present during the second hearing in approximately one month, when the judge would look over the evidence brought to them by CPS and where a lawyer for Chuck and Naomi would be able to argue their case (as would Meg, and potentially Michael's lawyer as well). With that, the meeting broke up and they each went back to their daily activities. 

\------------------------------------------

Sam entered negotiations with the new firm he had mentioned to Lucifer. Of course, he didn't tell the current firm he worked for, just in case negotiations fell through--but so far, they appeared to be going well. The new firm seemed eager to have Sam join them, which made for a number of pleasant surprises. For example, their initial salary offer was higher than what Sam had expected (though not nearly as high as what he was making now).

\------------------------------------------

The day of the initial hearing, Sam had to be in court all day, and Rafa was working a shift at the hospital. Thus, when the hearing was over, Meg called Lucifer. He'd spent the day trying to paint in the backyard and doing nothing more than getting his painting clothes splattered with even more paint. Somehow, none of the paint had actually ended up on the canvas (at least, where he wanted it to go). As soon as his phone rang, he dug it out of his pocket and put his brush and palette down. "Hello?" he asked. 

"Hello, angel, it's Meg."

"Hi Meg. What happened?" Lucifer was anxious to know what had happened, even though he knew that none of it would be too extreme--yet. 

"Exactly what we expected. The judge ordered Child Protective Services to take Castiel out of the home until a full investigation could be completed, which should start immediately. They're actually going to pick him up from school today before he can go home, from what I understand. The judge assigned him a law guardian that was local, from Redding. I don't know much about him, but I also haven't heard anything terrible, so I'm cautiously optimistic. She also assigned him a forensic psychologist--again, from Redding. The judge said that you, Sam, and Rafa would be allowed supervised visits after a week or so, once CPS can take official initial statements from everyone before you have any direct contact with Castiel. Those visits might be at Michael's house, or he might take Castiel to CPS headquarters in Redding so that you can meet with him there. It will be up to Michael. The judge agreed that as long as Michael was willing, Castiel could stay with him instead of being placed into a foster home in the short term. But she's really concerned about Castiel, and CPS is likely going to to be eyeing Michael's home as well. The judge and CPS were both upset that nothing had been reported earlier," Meg sounded as if she were just going to go on. 

"But we didn't know--" Lucifer just barely managed to get in edgewise. 

"I explained that, and they're not mad at you, although they wish Rafa had come forward sooner. They're just wondering how Michael in particular could be so close and not realize that all of this was going on, and they're concerned because he's still in the same religious sect as Chuck and Naomi. It's not a serious concern, or she wouldn't have agreed to let Castiel stay with Michael, but I do think CPS will take every opportunity to make sure the same thing isn't happening in Michael's home," Meg explained. 

"So we're...making trouble for Mikey?" Lucifer asked. He wasn't at all sure how he felt about that--Michael was apparently willing to take Castiel in, and, according to Rafa, had agreed not to alert Chuck and Naomi ahead of time. On the other hand, Michael had also made it clear that outside of the contact he had to have with them because of Castiel, he wanted nothing to do with Rafa or Lucifer.

"There won't be any trouble at all as long as his children are happy and healthy, like we want Castiel to be," Meg replied smoothly. "Besides, god forbid, but if he was treating his children like Chuck and Naomi treated all of you...wouldn't you want to get them out of that situation as badly as you want to get Castiel out of his, angel?"

"...I suppose." Lucifer was never happy arguing with a lawyer; they played dirty in terms of twisting words and making just about anything sound logical--he'd had enough minor (and a few major) disagreements with Sam to know that he was unlikely to ever win the upper hand. "I just don't want my brother being suspected of doing something just because my parents are douchebags." 

"It won't be like that, I promise. CPS will only make it an issue if they find adequate cause for doing so. In the meantime, they're just making sure that Michael's house is a safe place for Castiel," Meg told him. "Any other questions?"

"Yeah, um...these visits. Do they only happen on the weekday, or weekends, or when? And I assume we'll be asked to speak with CPS as well?" Lucifer asked.

"Ah, right, nearly forgot. They will be contacting you to set up times to meet with both the investigative team and a regular social worker, who can start walking you through the process of potentially becoming Castiel's legal guardians. They're government employees, so I'm afraid that means weekdays, for the most part," said Meg. 

"That's okay, Meg. Benny will give me time off if I ask, and...we'll just have to figure out a way for Sam to be there, too," Lucifer replied. "Is that all?"

"I think so, angel. Do you want me to call Sam separately, or will you tell him all of this?" she asked. 

"It's probably best if you call him; I'm sure he'll think of other questions to ask you," Lucifer admitted. 

Meg just laughed. "He's definitely a lawyer," she confirmed. "I'll give him a call after court lets out for the day."

"Thanks, Meg."

"You're welcome. Talk to you later, angel. I'll let you know if there are any updates."

"Okay, 'bye," Lucifer replied. 

"'Bye!" replied Meg, before hanging up the phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, this is a shortish, lame-ish chapter. It's exam time, AND I caught the nasty cold that's going around. The next chapter should be better, longer, and have Castiel to boot--plus some other familiar faces :). I just wanted to move the plot along a bit rather than not post anything this week.


	6. Visits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Lucifer finally meet Castiel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, it's another chapter! Oh, and the chapter count has increased! I'm sure none of you are surprised.

Sam and Lucifer gave their (short) statements to the CPS investigative team over the phone. Once that was done, they scheduled a home visit with a social worker associated with the case. Upon being asked whether or not it was all right if Castiel's law guardian came to meet them and see their home as well, they immediately said yes, wanting to appear (and be) as open as possible. 

Since it was a weekday, Ellen was cooking, so Sam didn't get in trouble for chopping vegetables improperly--the snack trays looked as if Martha Stewart had worked on them instead of Freddy Krueger. It was a hot day, so Dean and Michael's water bowl in the backyard included some ice cubes, and they were both working their way through frozen peanut butter-stuffed Kongs (a surefire way to keep them quiet and occupied for a while). 

That didn't mean they didn't bark when a car pulled up and two men got out, walked up to the door, and rang the bell, but it was somewhat subdued compared to their usual 'there's a stranger at the door' symphony. Sam opened the door, only to find a study in contrasts. One man was white and overweight, with curly hair a shade darker than Sam's. He had a kind face, and Sam immediately liked him. The other was a slim black man with a nearly bald head and a goatee. He looked rather unimpressed by everything he saw. 

The kind-looking man stuck his hand out to shake. "Hi, I'm Ronald Resnick, the social worker," he introduced himself, as he shook hands with Sam. "You can call me Ron. This is Victor Henriksen, the law guardian assigned to Castiel. May we come in?"

"Of course, please, make yourself at home," Sam replied. "I'm Sam Winchester, and this is my fiancé, Lucifer Shurley, Castiel's brother." He stepped back, making room for them to enter, as Ronald stepped in and then moved to shake Lucifer's hand. 

Victor walked in after him, and traded grips with Sam. "Victor," he repeated, as Sam nodded his welcome. His tone was neutral, and Sam could tell he was reserving judgement on just about everything for now.

"Please, come in and have a seat. Unless you'd like to see the house first?" Lucifer was a bit flustered, though Ronald's smile as they were shaking hands seemed to put him at ease for a moment or two. 

"It looks like a beautiful home, but I'd rather talk for a bit first, if you don't mind," Ronald replied as Lucifer walked them all toward the living room. Ronald took a seat on the couch, and Victor sat next to him. Sam purposefully sat across from Victor--he didn't not like the man, but he knew Victor would make Lucifer anxious if he stared silently across at him, as he was now doing to Sam. 

Lucifer poured them all ice waters. "Can I get you anything else?" he asked, looking mostly at Ron. The social worker and the law guardian politely declined, so Lucifer sat down next to Sam. Sam noticed that both of them had glanced over at the (rather small) liquor cabinet, but wasn't exactly surprised. He'd be a little upset if they didn't immediately spot potential problems like that. He was glad, however, that he and Lucifer had invested in a supposedly lock-pick safe lock for the cabinet.

Ronald smiled at the pair, and then launched into what seemed to be a practiced speech. "So, as you know, I'm one of the social workers assigned to Castiel's case. At the moment, it is not likely that CPS will allow him to go back into Chuck and Naomi Shurley's home following the hearing next month. Part of my job is to make a recommendation for Castiel's long-term placement. I understand you will be seeking custody?" He paused while Sam and Lucifer nodded. "In cases like these, we try to place the child with a relative whenever possible... Although usually we do this because the child knows the relative, and vice-versa. It's odd to consider placing a child with a relative they've never met, but not unprecedented. Today, I'm going to ask you some questions, and take a look at your home. There are no wrong or right answers to most of these questions; we just want to get a better idea of why you want to foster Castiel and whether or not you're ready, all right?"

"Of course," Sam said. Lucifer just nodded; he was looking anxious, so Sam reached over and took his hand to squeeze it. "Ask away." 

"All right, let's start with some easy ones," Ronald said, directing a smile at Lucifer as he pulled a pad of paper and a pen out of a briefcase. Victor had had his own very neat pad and pencil out and poised to start for some time already. "Neither of you have had children before?" When they both shook their heads no, he nodded and made a note. "And...you're engaged to each other? Do you have any wedding plans yet?" 

Lucifer was able to relax slightly as he told Ronald all about their wedding preparations. His body language became a bit more open, and Sam dropped his hand as Lucifer began making gestures. Sam's lips curled upward as he listened to his fiancé give Ron /entirely/ too much detail, though when he glanced across at Victor, the man's face was still a neutral mask. Apparently he wasn't as moved as Sam was by cute gay men discussing flower arrangements and invitations. 

"And why do you want to foster Castiel?" Ron asked when Lucifer had finally finished, scribbling some notes. 

Sam let Lucifer answer first; he knew that as a lawyer, he could come across as too glib. He wanted to let them hear the passion in Lucifer's voice before they heard his own logic. "I don't want any other kid to have to go through what me and my brothers went through," the blonde began. "It was awful. I was shocked to find out that Castiel even existed; had I had any idea that my dad had had another kid, I would have tried to get them away from my dad ages ago. And--and I'm in a good place now, with Sam. We had already talked about adopting children, though we had planned to do so after the wedding."

"So, if Castiel weren't available, you would consider adopting another child?" Ron asked, glancing up at Lucifer and smiling. His smile lit up his entire face, and Sam could see that it was part of what made him good at his job. 

"Well...like I said, we probably would have waited until after the wedding, but yeah. Neither of us had thought of adopting a teenager, but as soon as we heard about Castiel's situation, we started considering it. Especially when Rafa said he may be LGBTQ," Lucifer explained. 

"What if he's not?" The question surprised everyone, as it came from the previously-silent Victor. 

"Sorry?" Lucifer had clearly been prepared to continue speaking when Victor had cut him off, so he gaped like a fish for a moment or two. Sam could've rescued him, but again, he wanted them to hear someone who wasn't trained in public speaking deal with the question. 

"What if he's not gay, or bi? What if he's straight?" Victor clarified. He at least asked it in a neutral tone, for which Sam was thankful. 

"I--" Lucifer's brain was stuck for a moment. "That--why would that matter? He still needs a home."

Sam nearly laughed, but stopped himself in time. "We will love and respect Castiel regardless of who he is, or isn't," he added. "While part of our reason for volunteering to help is that we think he might be like us, that's not a condition for us taking him in. If it were, we would be as bad as Chuck and Naomi, who are determined to make him be straight. As long as he's taught to respect other's bodies and decisions and he's happy, we'll be happy no matter his sexual orientation or gender identity." 

Lucifer shot Sam a grateful look at his conversational smooth-over, and then turned back to the social worker and law guardian. Ron continued to nod occasionally as he made notes, then asked, "What, if anything, have you already done to prepare to foster Castiel?"

"We picked out his room," Lucifer said promptly. "We're going to let him decorate it how he wants when--if he gets here, but Sam has already bought him some of his favorite books from when he was a teenager and put them on a shelf in the room. We debated getting an Xbox or something, but decided to wait until he got here in case he has a favorite gaming system. And I've been taking Dean to obedience school so he'll be better behaved. We locked the liquor cabinet with a lock that said teenagers wouldn't be able to pick it." He pointed to the cabinet in question. "Only Sam has the key. Oh, and we had the carpenters come to see about soundproofing our bedroom because," Lucifer's brain abruptly caught up with his mouth, and he started to turn bright red. "You know," he mumbled. 

To everyone's surprise, it was Victor who let out a loud guffaw at this. Once he finished laughing, he gave Lucifer a grin and said, "It sounds like you've really been thinking hard about what adopting a teenager would mean." 

"We have," Sam took over the conversation smoothly, letting his fiancé continue to impersonate a tomato for the time being. "I've also put in my three weeks' notice at the law firm I'm currently working for. I start at a new firm in about six weeks, one which has better hours and more reasonable expectations for new parents than my current one. That should give me some time at home to recover from the workload I've had lately, and, if we're lucky enough to have Castiel come stay with us, allow me to be home during the first couple of weeks of the transition. I didn't feel comfortable becoming a parent and still working as many hours as I've been working."

Victor actually smiled at the two of them, and Lucifer began to lose his resemblance to a beet. Somewhat. Ron started asked them some follow-up questions, about how often they drank and what sort of hours both he and Lucifer worked and would work in the future. As they answered, Victor seemed to warm up to them even more. 

When asked how they would discipline Castiel if he became unruly, Sam and Lucifer walked them through their own discussion about discipline methods and how they'd resolved a disagreement--Sam had initially suggested they take away the teen's cell phone privileges, but Lucifer had explained how that might isolate Castiel from a social network he desperately needed while going through some major life changes. In the end, they had agreed that Castiel could keep his phone if he got in trouble, but that they'd lock his computer and take away any video games so that he could only use the programs he needed to do homework until he was finished with it. 

Both Victor and Ron seemed to appreciate the time they'd taken to discuss parenting with each other, and their plans to have open and honest communication in the house. Sam admitted at one point that he had bought about a dozen books on parenting teenagers and was making his way through them in between cases. Victor seemed to find that as amusing as the soundproofing, but when he and Ronald asked what books Sam had purchased and about those he'd read already, he had to concede that Sam had decent taste in self-help books. Both Sam and Lucifer explained that they were in therapy and that they would very much insist that Castiel see one too, even if it weren't court-mandated.

After nearly two hours of questioning, the men got up and walked around the house. Sam and Lucifer introduced Ron and Victor to Ellen, who was working in the kitchen. She told them not to worry; if Sam and Lucifer did anything wrong with Castiel, she'd set them straight right away. Sam, personally, didn't doubt it. Victor and Ron also got to meet Michael and Dean, and Sam saw the way that both of them made sure that the dogs had shade and water in addition to their frozen treats. Lucifer demonstrated a simple 'sit-stay' with Michael and Dean, who happily obeyed in return for a cookie. Ron and Victor pet both dogs, and the dogs came in with them when they re-entered the house and continued their tour. Victor managed not to make a quip about soundproofing when they went through the master bedroom, but Lucifer still turned a little red and Sam had to rub his back to get him calmed down again. Then Sam turned equally red when he noticed that his stack of dog-eared parenting books were sitting on the nightstand, where Victor and Ron could see. _Oh well, it could be something worse,_ he told himself mentally.

Both Victor and Ron were smiling as they left; Sam considered this a major coup, at least as far as Victor was concerned. He gave Lucifer a long hug after the other men left, wishing he didn't have to work on cases for the rest of the afternoon. "We did a great job," he murmured into Lucifer's hair. 

"We did, didn't we?" Lucifer replied. "Do you -have- to go work?" he added, knowing that Sam was about to excuse himself to his office.

"Yeah, I do. Sorry, Luce," Sam said. "It won't be like this for very much longer. I'll see you later tonight, okay?"

Lucifer pouted, but Sam pulled out of his arms anyway. "Maybe I'll wear something special." Sam raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but Lucifer just gave him an innocent look in return. 

"Brat," Sam said affectionately. 

"You love every minute of me being a brat," Lucifer replied as he turned to go work on his latest show's promotional material. 

"I do," Sam called over his shoulder. He went to work, but he knew thoughts of Lucifer's wardrobe choices were going to thoroughly distract him all afternoon. 

\---------------------------------------------

If the visit with Ron and Victor had been somewhat surreal, the visit they finally had with Castiel was full-on Salvador Dali. First, they were seated in what looked like a re-purposed conference room, which was full of toys, games, crayons, and paper, all very well-used. Second, Ronald and Victor were both in the room with them, along with a forensic psychologist they had just been introduced to, Pamela Barnes. Sam couldn't help but feel as if they were at some important meeting, waiting on a partner or a CEO or something to walk into the room and take over.

It didn't help when Castiel opened the door and came in. The kid, who was about three-quarters of Lucifer's height at this point, was in a goddamned suit and tie (although the tie /was/ crooked). Castiel pushed his overlarge glasses up his nose as he peered around at all of them. "You must be my brother," he said after a moment of studying the people in the room, walking up to Lucifer and offering his hand to shake. "Hello, Lucifer. Pleased to meet you." 

Lucifer stood, and clearly fought back an urge to throw his arms around the skinny kid in front of them. Instead, he took Castiel's hand and shook it, trying to keep his expression as serious as Castiel's. "Hello, Castiel. I'm very happy to meet you, too. This is my fiancé, Sam," he added, gesturing behind him to where Sam was standing. 

"Hello, Mr. Winchester. My name is Castiel." Castiel repeated the same formal hand-shake with Sam. Someone somewhere had taught him that the harder the grip, the better the handshake; Sam made a mental note to disabuse him of that notion before Castiel turned into That Guy. 

"Hello, Castiel. You can call me Sam if you like," Sam replied before they all took their seats again. 

"I'd prefer to call you Mr. Winchester," Castiel replied, "If that is acceptable." 

"...Sure," Sam replied, after a short pause. He found himself wondering what on Earth his boyfriend's parents had done to this kid. It was almost as if he were Lieutenant Data from Star Trek. Or maybe Spock; he had the right hair color for Spock.

"Rafa said that you are a lawyer. Did you know that her new name means happiness and prosperity in Arabic?" Castiel sat down and then tilted his head at Sam. 

"I...did not," Sam admitted, still a little taken aback by Castiel's formality. The kid even interlaced his fingers and set them neatly on the table in front of him. "But I think she chose a very good name." 

"I do too," Castiel replied. "I'm not supposed to use her new name, though. My parents and Michael want me to call her Raphael. I do not see the point of calling someone something that they do not like," he said with a completely straight face, having already informed Sam that he was planning to call him Mr. Winchester from now on. Castiel suddenly switched that intense blue-eyed look from Sam to Lucifer. "Rafa said you are an artist. Could you tell me, what's the point of art?" He looked for all the world as if he were a partner or a CEO, and he was formally interviewing the two of them for some position. _I suppose that's not far off the mark,_ Sam mused.

"The point...?" Lucifer glanced at Sam, 'Help me!' written all over his features. Sam just chose to give him an encouraging smile, and nudge Lucifer's leg with his foot. "Well. There are, um...lots of reasons people make art, I suppose. I paint because it really helps me see things, you know?"

"No. I don't know," Castiel said, shaking his head and then tilting it to the side as if Lucifer were a difficult math problem. "Can you elaborate?"

Lucifer had thought that handling a teenager would be easy. This...walking thesaurus...in front of him, however, was /not/ a normal teenager. If he didn't have Mikey's Caribbean-blue eyes and dark hair, Lucifer would seriously doubt that he was related to the boy in front of him. "Um. Well, when you have to choose colors to paint with and brush-strokes to make, you really have to pay attention to what you're painting. You have to see the colors for what they are, not what you think they are, and you have to pay careful attention to shapes," he managed finally. 

"Ah," Castiel replied. "I'm afraid I still don't see the point of art, however." He looked expectantly up at Lucifer, while the three people across from Sam and Lucifer were all making notes in their legal pads. 

_Not fair!_ Lucifer's brain protested. "There's...well, I think the point is different for everyone," he managed finally. "Art makes people feel, but everyone usually has different feelings about a piece of art. It's a matter of taste, I suppose, but the point is to invoke feelings. At least, for me."

"Ah," Castiel repeated, though his tone suggested he still didn't understand. He turned that blue-eyed gaze onto Sam. "I have considered becoming a lawyer. What was your score on the LSAT?"

"172," Sam replied. Realizing that he should probably take the upper hand away from the only teenager in the room, he added, "What do you like to do in your free time, Castiel?"

"I study," replied Castiel, and Sam realized that yes, they were dealing with a nerd's nerd here. "Sometimes I play chess." _Of course you do,_ thought Sam. "Mostly I read, but I like to read outside, so I can hear all of the insects and birds. I have an insect collection," he said proudly. "I want to take it to someone who knows about entomology so I can learn all their names. Father didn't want to buy me an insect guide. He said only the Lord should know all of the names of the beasts and insects." 

Meanwhile, Lucifer the high-school dropout was still trying to figure out how he could have any genes in common with this kid. He had no idea what entomology even meant; he'd have to remember to ask Sam later. However, there was one way in which they were similar, and he reached his hand across the table to cover Castiel's smaller ones. "Father says a lot of things, Castiel, and many of them are lies or exaggerations. You can't believe a lot of what he says. If you want to learn insect names, you should go ahead and learn them. It's not wrong to want to learn things."

Castiel turned to study Lucifer, and when he realized the man meant what he'd said, the teen smiled at him. Sam was instantly reminded of Lucifer's smile, and it made him smile reflexively. "Really?" Castiel asked. There was a pause before he added, "If I come stay with you, could I get an insect guide? I'd save up my own money to buy it, of course." 

"Tell you what," Sam said, drawing Castiel's attention. "Whether or not you come stay with us, we'll get you an insect guide. For your birthday or Christmas, whichever comes first," he added, because he didn't want to seem like they just planned to shower money on the boy (even if they did). "What's your favorite insect?"

"The honeybee," Castiel enthused, pushing his glasses up his nose again. "Did you know that most of the bees you see are female? They're the workers. The males just mate with the queen and then they die. Bees can see in the ultraviolet spectrum, and they have the ability to communicate both distance and direction of flowers through their famous waggle dance. It's like a special bee language. I read all about it at school!"

"That's neat!" Sam replied, leaning forward. He wasn't faking his interest, either. "How do they do that?"

"Okay, so, when a bee comes back to the hive and has found a really great flower--" Castiel grabbed a piece of paper and started sketching absently with a crayon to illustrate his various points as he educated them all on honeybee language. 

Sam followed along, but when he realized that Lucifer looked lost, he leaned forward and whispered in his fiancé's ear. Lucifer brightened, and then leaned forward himself. "You know," he said, pointing to Castiel's drawing, "If you added a shadow right there, it would help put the entire picture in perspective." 

Castiel frowned, and blinked down at his drawing. He studied it in silence for a few moments, and then carefully added a shadow where Lucifer had indicated. "...Huh," he said. "It does. Why?" Castiel looked up, fixing Lucifer with his intense gaze. 

Lucifer was surprised, but pleased, when Castiel asked his question. "It gives the observer a frame of reference, so they can see where the light in the picture is coming from. It helps you decide what objects are in front of other objects in the picture. See how your flower now looks like it's in front of the hive?" 

"I see," Castiel said, looking back down to frown at his bee drawing. "So...if I added a shadow...here," he said, pointing to a spot on the drawing and then looking up at Lucifer, "But not here," he indicated a different spot, "It would indicate that this bee is flying in front of the hive, but not in front of the flower?"

"...Try it," Lucifer replied with a smile. 

Castiel was clearly not a fan of such a chaotic strategy, and he frowned at Lucifer, but after a moment or two, he looked down and added the shadow. "It does!" he said excitedly. "Look," he said, showing the others at the table. "He's right!" 

Sam elbowed Lucifer in the ribs. "Way to go, Luce," he whispered to him. 

"It was your idea," Lucifer whispered back. 

"You still did it," Sam replied, grinning proudly at his fiancé. 

"You know," Castiel said, pushing his glasses up his nose again, "Illustration was once an important skill for scientists to have. Maybe you could teach me some more about perspective?" he asked Lucifer hopefully. 

"I'd love to, little brother," Lucifer replied, finally reaching out with his closest arm to pull Castiel into a one-armed brotherly hug. Sam remembered looking /exactly/ like Castiel did when Dean used to do that to him--one part rumpled, one part embarrassed, and one part happy you have someone to embarrass you in front of everyone else. 

"Are you planning to become a scientist when you grow up, Castiel?" Sam asked, leaning back a little in his chair. 

"I am not certain," the teenager responded. "I like science and logic." Sam tried to avoid imagining him with Vulcan ears, and couldn't--but at least he managed to suppress his grin. "As I mentioned previously, law also interests me. I have also considered engineering, but I don't know that much about computers." _At least he occasionally uses contractions,_ Sam thought. 

"I know a little bit," Sam said. "I once had mad skills in HTML, as my brother Dean would say. Maybe I could teach you what I know, and then if you want, we could make sure you enroll in a high school that has computer science courses."

"Mad skills?" Castiel made a face, and this time, none of them could help laughing--including Pamela and even Victor, so Sam didn't feel -so- bad. "Is that like...lit? And what's HTML? Is that like...the first programming language there was?"

It was Sam's turn to make a face. He'd never felt older in his life. "No, I think that was DOS," he replied, as the others around the table chuckled. "And I don't know what lit means."

"It means good," Ron supplied helpfully from across the table. "It's the new 'cool.'" 

"Awesome, as Dean would say," Sam muttered under his breath. When had kids gone and invented a new language? "Anyway, HTML is what websites are made out of," he explained in a slightly louder tone, "Except that now it's usually hidden behind a couple of layers of programming. But you can still use it, if you know how." 

"I would like to learn HTML," Castiel said, with all sincerity, and that's when Sam's heart melted. He knew the kid was just saying it to make Sam feel a little better about having some fairly useless knowledge, but he appreciated that Castiel's first instinct was to make someone else feel better about themselves rather than worse. _Just like his brother,_ he thought to himself.

They began to discuss other things--Castiel took one opportunity to quiz them on what they both thought of religion, and they told him the truth; Lucifer said he was an atheist, and Sam explained that he was spiritual and still prayed, but didn't really belong to any organized religion. That particular conversation probably would've gone on longer, had Pamela not stepped in to point out that Castiel had started to ask /very/ personal questions ('What do you pray about, Mr. Winchester?'), and it might be better if they switched topics. 

Soon, Castiel and Sam were chatting about being former (and current) mathletes. Truth be told, Lucifer was still a bit stunned by his little brother's intelligence, but as time went on, he managed to connect with Castiel on several different levels--usually, he found, when he was telling Castiel the truth, even if it made him look bad. There were tears in both their eyes as they briefly discussed what it was like to feel absolutely worthless. "But you're not worthless, Castiel. You're so smart. You can be anything you put your mind to. Right, Sam?" Lucifer asked. 

"Right," Sam replied, trying not to tear up himself. "Everyone, regardless of who they are, has worth. Everyone deserves to be loved and respected and treated well."

"Even my parents?" Castiel asked immediately. 

_God help us all if he does become a lawyer_ , Sam thought to himself. "Yes, even your parents. It's perfectly possible to love and even respect someone, even though they do bad things." 

"Especially if they're your parents. You never completely stop loving them," Lucifer added. 

"You still love Father and Mother?" Castiel asked, head tilting to the side and brows drawing down in what was clearly a signature move for him. 

"...Yes, I do," Lucifer admitted after a couple moments' silence. "I don't love what they did to me, or to you, or to Rafa and Mikey. I'm pi--I'm very angry with them, for what they did. But I still love them. They're my parents; even if you want to, it's hard not to love your parents. Even when they're as awful as ours." This time, he reached for Sam's hand and took it. "But...you'll find, Castiel, when you get older, that it's much better to spend your time with people who truly love you back, who'd do anything for you. It's not worth wasting time on the people who don't love you back, even if you love them very much." Lucifer looked over at Sam, pulling Sam's hand to his lips to kiss his fiancé's knuckles. "I'm so happy with Sam here because he loves me just as much as I love him." 

Castiel didn't really react to the public display of affection; though these days, Lucifer supposed, you could see much worse in any high school you cared to look in. Instead, he seemed to be mulling over Lucifer's words. "So...do you think you could love me? Even if I don't really like art?"

Lucifer actually snorted as he turned back to Castiel. "Little bro," he replied, grabbing him again in a one-armed hug and holding him there, "I love you already, and that won't change. Not if you hate every painting I've ever painted and every painting and sculpture I've ever loved. And I can tell that Sam here loves you already too, and he'll love you whether you become a scientist, or a lawyer, or an engineer, or even a pizza man. C'mere," he added, going for a full hug this time. 

Castiel allowed the hug, and when he pulled away, he blinked several times, as if holding back tears. "Do you really mean that, Lu?" he asked, suddenly looking much younger than he had just a moment ago. 

"Yes, I do," Lucifer replied, gathering him into yet another hug. "You're an amazing kid, and -whoever- you end up staying with until graduation is going to be very lucky to have you in their house." 

"Agreed," said Sam, rubbing Lucifer's back rather than joining the hug directly. "We'll be very lucky men if the state decides to place you with us." 

This time, when Castiel drew away from Lucifer, he wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "Thanks," he said, in voice almost too soft to hear. 

"You're welcome," replied Sam, pulling out his phone. "Now--here's an important question. Do you like dogs?" He started looking through his phone for pictures of Dean and Michael. 

" _Canis familiaris?_ Of course I do!" Castiel said, brightening. "Do you have a dog?" 

With that, the conversation moved to lighter topics. Eventually, Castiel had to go, and he hugged both Lucifer and Sam goodbye before he left. After he was out the door, Lucifer and Sam exchanged a meaningful look, communicating without actually speaking, and then smiled brightly at each other at exactly the same time. Lucifer immediately threw his arms around Sam, and Sam laughed. "It's unanimous," he explained to the three individuals sitting across from him. "We want to be his foster parents." 

Victor held out his hand to Pamela. Ron got a long-suffering look on his face, and Pamela looked annoyed. "Fine, fine," she muttered, getting out her wallet. "Here," she said, slapping a $5 bill into Victor's hand. "You two didn't run screaming," she explained to Lucifer and Sam, who had pulled away from each other enough to watch the exchange. "We introduced Castiel to two other potential sets of foster parents, just in case he couldn't be placed with you or Michael, and both of them high-tailed it out of the building as soon as their meetings with him were over. Apparently, he was too 'intense.'" 

Lucifer laughed this time. "Thanks for betting on us," he told Victor. 

"No, thank you," the black man replied. "You gentlemen just earned me my afternoon latté. Now, if you all will excuse me, I need to go make arrangements to speak with my client at a later date." He left the room, and the rest of them stood and stretched. 

"You did a good job with Castiel," Pamela noted, and Ron nodded from his spot behind her. "He hides behind his mask of logic and fact to avoid feeling some of the more complicated emotions that he's had to feel in the past few weeks, but both of you were able to get him out from behind it, in different ways. I'm not really supposed to say anything, but screw it. I won't be betting against you two at the hearing. Just the opposite, really." She reached across the table and shook their hands as they thanked her, then left them alone with Ronald. 

"Do you two have any questions about the foster process?" he asked them. "They may not be officially allowed to root for you, but I'm your case worker. From what I saw, both of you would make excellent parents for Castiel." 

Sam and Lucifer did have some questions, which Ron happily answered for them before showing them out of the slightly maze-like building. They thanked him, then got in Sam's car and headed back to Oakland, full of nervous excitement.


	7. Date day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Lucifer have a date day before the hearing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for FLUUUUUUUUUFFFFFFFF!  
> I was actually going to jump right into the hearing, but it's been a /very/ long week and I thought some fluff wouldn't hurt anyone. Of course, once I started writing, I couldn't stop...
> 
> They get piercings, so there are needles in this chapter. Sorry. I don't really like them either. You can just skip over the piercing part if that's not your thing.

Sam and Lucifer had two more supervised visits with Castiel before the hearing, with similar results. Castiel still insisted on calling Sam 'Mr. Winchester' like he was Hugo Weaving in the Matrix (although he had started using a fonder tone when he said it), but he was at least calling his older brother 'Lu.' Sam and Lucifer had also met with Ron and Victor again, as well as independently with Pamela Barnes, who had explained many of the ways in which his parents' abuse had damaged Castiel's psyche. Sam added a stack of child psychology books to his ever-growing stack of parenting books. Lucifer decided that his boyfriend thought that all the answers to everything could be found in a book somewhere.

As the custody hearing approached, they learned that Chuck and Naomi had been arrested and charged with child abuse based on the contents of the journal, so the good news was that they wouldn't be at the hearing. Unfortunately, their lawyer, a man Meg despised by the name of Alistair Rolston, would be. Michael had also decided to seek custody of Castiel, so he and his lawyer, Hester Holmes, would attend as well.

Lucifer was not dealing very well with the stress and uncertainty. He was having occasional panic attacks, and the fact that Michael wouldn't even speak to any of them was not helping. He was using all of the coping strategies Garth had taught him, but nothing was really working. Sam had finished working at the one law firm and was taking a few weeks' break before he started at the next, so he proposed a date day, where he and Lucifer could focus on themselves and their relationship. Lucifer had a few days off from Benny's restaurant--he had planned to spend them painting, but his anxiety was preventing him from getting anything done, so he agreed that Sam's idea was a good one. 

The two slept in, and then had brunch in bed, courtesy of Ellen. After feeding each other and exchanging some lazy kisses, they got up, got dressed, and proceeded to work on the wedding together, an activity that definitely took their minds off of the upcoming hearing. Sam's smile brightened as he watched Lucifer slowly relax as they signed invitations and discussed potential seating arrangements--along with who they were going to try to set Rafa up with, if she didn't come with a date.

That afternoon, they went into downtown San Francisco. They wandered from shop to shop, buying little presents for each other. Sam found some organic goat's milk bath bombs for Lucifer, and Lucifer found a gold tie tack with rainbow flag enamel for Sam to wear. An hour or so in to the adventure, they found themselves in line at an organic gelato stand. "You've really never had gelato?" Sam was asking. 

"Nope," replied Lucifer. "Is it...pudding? Or ice cream?" He was looking over the shoulders of the crowd in front of the stand, and even though he was taller than most, he wasn't getting a good look. 

"It's like ice cream, but better. What flavor do you want?" Sam pointed to some large signs by the stand detailing the many flavors of the frozen dessert that were available. 

"...I don't know," Lucifer replied, scanning the sign. "What are you going to get?"

Sam eyed the sign. "Raspberry, I think. I love the raspberries out here; they have so much flavor." 

"Mmm, good idea," Lucifer said, switching the bag he was holding to his other hand so he could take Sam's in his. "I think I'll try the mango, though. Could I have a taste of yours, just to try it?"

"Of course," Sam said, leaning over to give Lucifer a quick, chaste kiss.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt--but you two look so cute together," said a dark-haired woman behind them in line, a silly grin plastered all over her face. 

Sam glanced at her, and chuckled. "Thanks," he replied. 

"Yeah, thanks," added Lucifer, ducking his head slightly. 

The woman just continued to grin in response. "How do you get all the good-looking ones to play on your team, anyway?"

Sam opened his mouth to respond, but Lucifer beat him to it. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but if we told you, we'd have to kill you. It's a very important part of the secret gay agenda, you see." 

This set all three off, and they were still laughing as they made it to the counter to give their orders. Once all three of them had ordered and paid, the woman offered, "Have a nice day," as she wandered off with her gelato. 

"You too," Sam called after her. 

Lucifer was too busy enjoying the first bite of his gelato. "Mmmmm," he moaned. 

Sam looked back at him and laughed again. "Good?"

"Mmmm-hmmmm," came the reply. 

"Here, have a taste of mine," Sam said, scooping up some of his dessert with the little plastic spoon he'd been given. He made eye contact with Lucifer, and then aimed the spoon at his fiancé's mouth. Lucifer dutifully opened his mouth and accepted the treat, making enough of a show of it to give Sam flashbacks about other interesting things Lucifer was capable of doing with his mouth. From the faint blush on his pale cheeks, Lucifer was thinking along the same lines. 

It didn't help that the noise Lucifer made was nearly orgasmic. "Oh, god, Sam," he groaned. "That's amazing." 

"Told you so," Sam laughed, taking a bite of his own gelato before walking off in the direction they were headed when they'd found the stand. "I'm going to have to add a couple of miles to my run tomorrow, but it's so worth it."

"Just so you know, Sam, I'll still love you if you get fat," Lucifer told his fiancé. 

Sam scoffed, "Maybe, but _I'd_ hate myself." 

"Ah-ah-ah, what would Brady say about that?" Lucifer teased. Brady was Sam's therapist. "You have to love yourself no matter what shape you are." 

"Fine, but I love myself _more_ when I'm _in_ shape," Sam retorted, making a face. "That's one reason why I left that firm. I was eating less healthy stuff, _and_ I kept having to cut down my run." 

"I know," Lucifer replied, holding his gelato in one hand and wrapping the other around Sam's waist. "I wasn't sure about that at first, but now I'm so glad you did. You're so much happier and less stressed." 

"I'm glad, too," Sam replied. They continued to walk and window-shop until they had finished their desserts and thrown away their trash. 

"Hey, look!" Lucifer was pointing to a shop that did tattoos and piercing. The look of pure, unadulterated mischief he directed at Sam did not bode well for his fiancé. "Let's go in!"

Sam had a sinking feeling. Lucifer had been trying to get him to pierce, well, anything, for some time now. He had finally said he would _think_ about getting an ear pierced. He liked his fiancé's piercings, sure, but he really wasn't sure about doing it to his own body. He _was_ a lawyer and had to look respectable, after all. He wasn't that bothered by the idea of the pain (except for -some- of the piercings Lucifer suggested), but he knew that he would have to adjust his clothing to hide, for example, nipple piercings while in court. "...Okay," he said, a tad reluctantly. As for tattoos, well, they hurt AND they were permanent and visible. 

Lucifer grabbed Sam's hand as soon as he had acquiesced and dragged him across the street and into the shop. "Hello," Lucifer greeted the woman at the counter in front. "We're just looking, for now." 

"Sure," she replied, smiling back at him. "We have several books of art by our artists," she said, sliding a couple of binders across the counter, "And we also have lots of pictures up on the wall you can look at. If you want to look at pictures of genital piercings, we have those in another folder. Can't put 'em up on the wall," she explained. 

"Thanks," replied Lucifer, opening one of the binders and beginning to page through it. 

Sam, looking out of place as the only one there who didn't have any piercings or tattoos, finally started looking at the pictures on the walls. There was another couple in the shop, a man and a woman, who were pointing to various pictures and debating the merits of additional piercings; they already sported several. While Sam was looking at the tastefully-done pictures, he felt Lucifer--at least, it had better be Lucifer--drape himself across his back. "See anything you like, Sam?"

"Not really," Sam admitted, turning around to hug Lucifer. "How about you?"

"Mmm." Lucifer had that look on his face again, and Sam knew he was in trouble. Sam had thought that he was the king of puppy-dog eyes before he met Lucifer. Sometimes the man was entirely too much like his namesake. "I'll make you a deal. You get an ear pierced today, and I'll get my tongue pierced." 

"Isn't it a sin or something to make a deal with the Devil?" Sam had to laugh. "All right. I'll get an ear pierced. But you don't have to get your tongue done unless you want to. And...why do I suspect there's more to this plan than what you just suggested?"

"Oh, I want to get it done," Lucifer assured him, grinning. "I just said that so you'd do your ear. We've been talking about it for, what, over a year now? I knew if I didn't actually drag you in a shop, it wasn't going to happen." 

"...And the rest of the plan?" Sam asked, narrowing his eyes at his fiancé. He could tell that wasn't all. 

Lucifer hummed noncommittally and gave Sam his best innocent look. "There's no rest of the plan."

Now Sam was sure. "Yes, there is. What is it?" He leaned down so that he could speak into Lucifer's ear. "If you don't tell me, I'll get you to the very edge tonight and then not let you go over." 

Lucifer whimpered involuntarily. "I want you to see how little pain there is," he admitted finally, "So that you'd consider some more. But nothing more today, I swear." 

Sam eyed him for a moment, and then nodded. "All right." He turned Lucifer around and walked him back to the counter. 

"Did you two decide on something?" the woman asked. Her name tag said Alice, Sam noted. 

"Yeah," Lucifer replied. "I'm going to get my tongue done, and Sam here wants his ear pierced." 

"Okay. We have some paperwork for you to fill out, then," Alice said, pulling out forms and attaching them to a couple of clipboards. "I see you're a veteran," she noted, glancing at Lucifer. "Sam, do you have any piercings?" When he shook his head no, she added a few more sheets to his stack of papers. "This is some basic information about piercings and taking care of them. Of course, we'll also get you both aftercare guides for your specific piercings once you're done. Just fill out these forms for me, and as soon as our piercer is available, you can go back. I assume you want to go back together?"

"Yeah," Lucifer said, taking the clipboards and handing Sam his before taking a seat in the waiting area. The couple who had been discussing piercings had left without getting any, so they were now the only ones in the front besides Alice. 

Sam sat down next to him and started reading over all the papers. He nodded once or twice to himself about the legal language, and then began filling the forms out. 

Lucifer had his finished long before Sam did as he hadn't bothered reading the boring parts, but he waited for Sam and then took both sets of forms over to the counter so Alice could look them over and enter the data in the shop's computer. "It'll just be a few minutes," she said. "He's doing someone else right now." 

"Okay, no rush," Lucifer replied, walking back over to sit next to Sam and taking his hand. "You okay? You sure you want to do this?" he asked, as Sam was looking skeptical. 

"Yeah. After all, you said if I didn't like it, I could just take it out and it would heal up, right?" Sam asked, even though he'd read exactly the same thing on one of the informational guides moments before. 

"I promise," Lucifer said, leaning over to kiss Sam's cheek. "And you're going to look so good. I know you're going to go subtle, babe, but it'll still look amazing." 

"You know me too well," Sam said, glancing up as a woman came out of the back. It looked as if she had just gotten her eyebrow pierced, judging by the way it had swelled slightly. A heavily tatted and pierced man followed her, talking about how she should return in a few weeks for them to make sure the piercing healed and to change the jewelry for the first time. Alice already had a packet of information ready for the woman, and they began to chat as she started to ring her up. 

The tattooed man, whose name tag said, "Killian," picked up their forms and studied them a moment before waving them forward. "Come on back," he said, leading them into the back of the store. Sam was pleased to see that everything looked incredibly sterile. "Which of you wants to go first?" He had a pleasant, British-sounding accent and dark brown hair.

"I will," Lucifer volunteered, taking a seat in the chair Killian indicated. Sam sat down next to him in a regular chair. 

"Let me guess. You're--wait, Lucifer? Really?" the man looked up from the forms, frowning in confusion. 

"Yeah. Weird parents," Lucifer replied, making a face. 

"Tell me about it," the man said, indicating his own name tag. "All right. Just a simple barbell through the tongue?" He put on latex gloves and a face mask and then pulled out a needle, forceps, and a basic barbell, all encased in sterile plastic. 

"Yeah," Lucifer confirmed. "Right here." He opened his mouth to show Killian exactly where he wanted the piercing to go, and Killian looked and then nodded. 

"No allergies to latex?" Killian asked, glancing at Sam to include him in the question. 

"No, we're both fine," Sam confirmed. 

"Okay." Killian poured out some antiseptic mouthwash and handed it to Lucifer. "Rinse, and then open. I'll dry it out with this," he said, holding up the dental tool that sucked saliva out of your mouth while the dentist was working and putting a new plastic end piece on it. Sam was looking happier as the amount of sterile techniques he could see increased.

Lucifer nodded, and did as instructed. Soon, Killian had Lucifer's tongue held in his forceps and was inserting the needle. He hadn't even asked if Lucifer was ready. Normally, Sam would have been curious about the process, but after watching Lucifer grimace in pain, he looked away. Maybe he should've gone first. 

"All right," Killian said, a few moments later. "Just need to tighten them, and then we'll rinse your mouth out again and you're all set." Sam decided it was safe to look back, so he witnessed Killian screwing the ends of the barbells onto Lucifer's piercing. Lucifer looked as if the pain had faded to mere discomfort, though he grimaced again when he rinsed out his mouth. Having done that, he stood with the help of Killian and grinned at Sam, sticking his tongue out so his boyfriend could see.

"Nice," Sam said. He knew he wasn't allowed to kiss Lucifer on the mouth for a while, so he kissed his cheek instead. 

"Your thurn," Lucifer said, grinning as he helped Sam into the chair. Lucifer sounded odd, as his tongue had already started to swell, but they both had expected that. 

Meanwhile, Killian was stripping off his gloves, throwing everything into appropriate biohazard containers. "So, Sam, traditional spot? Left or right ear?"

Sam started to drum his fingers on the arm of the chair, a nervous tic of his. "Traditional and...right." He watched Killian put on a new pair of gloves and begin pulling out materials needed for the ear piercing. 

"You can do the lefth if you wanth; it won'th bother me," Lucifer told him. "Either one will look greath. He'th bi, not gay," he explained to Killian, who just nodded in understanding, and waited for Sam to make a final decision. 

"I'm gay for you, Luce," Sam replied, taking his fiancé's hand and grinning up at him. "Right," he said, much more firmly this time. 

"Okay," Killian replied, wiping the bottom of Sam's ear and the surrounding area with antiseptic. "Ready?" he asked, picking up a needle. 

"Yes," Sam said, though his smile faltered. Lucifer gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. 

"All right. On three," Killian said. "Hold still. One, two..." and then he put the needle through Sam's ear. 

"Ow! Fuck!" Sam swore, though if he was honest, the pain wasn't actually as bad as he'd thought--he just hadn't expected Killian to be so much like Dean and do it on two instead of three. 

"Nearly done," Killian told him, as he withdrew the needle and wiped at his ear. There was a bit of laughter in his tone. "Just need to put the stud in." 

"'M not sure 'm comfortable with anyone else doing thath to my fianthé," Lucifer teased, sounding even odder than before. He leaned down to give Sam a quick kiss--and then stopped, when Killian shot him a look. "Righth. No kithing," he said, pouting slightly. He ran his thumb along Sam's cheekbone instead, while Sam hissed slightly as his new jewelry was inserted. 

"Okay. All done," Killian said, sitting back in his chair and starting to throw things into the various trash containers. The man launched into a speech on the aftercare of ear and tongue piercings, which both of them paid careful attention to as he led them out of the shop. In front, Alice had a packet for each of them, detailing exactly what Killian had just said in case they forgot later. Lucifer insisted on paying for both of them, and then they left the shop, Lucifer grinning happily and Sam grinning happily because Lucifer was grinning happily. 

Sam had to admit, the dull ache that he still felt from his earlobe was worth it to see his boyfriend relaxed and smiling like that. "What now?" he asked Lucifer. 

"Hmm. Leth keep going," Lucifer decided. 

They did, largely window shopping until they found one that made both their eyes light up--a tastefully decorated adult shop. _Hooray for San Francisco,_ Sam thought, as Lucifer led him into the store. "Hello gentlemen," the woman at the register greeted them. "Let me or one of the associates know if you need any help finding anything." 

They nodded to her, and Lucifer picked up a small basket before grinning at Sam and then walking further into the store. "Oh no. Don't tell me you have plans again," Sam said as he walked after Lucifer, glancing around at the various displays. 

Lucifer put some lube into the basket--they always needed that--and then followed it up with some flavored condoms. 

"What are those for?" asked Sam. Lucifer fell in love with him all over again when he noted there was no accusation in his voice, just curiosity. 

"For when my thongue feelth betther," Lucifer replied, turning to grin at him. "I'm na' thuppotheh a give you a blow job for a month becauthe you mighth geth bactheria in my mouth. Buth if you have a condom on..." he waved a hand. 

"Ohh," Sam replied. It was his turn to smile. "I see." 

"Ith'll thill be a week or thwo unthil ith healeth enough," Lucifer warned him. 

"Better than a month," Sam replied, slipping an arm around Lucifer's waist. "I can't believe I can't kiss you for at least a week." 

"You can kith me. Justh noth my mouth," Lucifer sassed back. 

"Hmm, I'll have to think about that," Sam teased. They had made it over to the lingerie section, and Lucifer was looking through what they had available for men. Sam very much liked the look of Lucifer in panties, and both of them felt perfectly safe indulging in the kink--Lucifer's history of domestic violence meant that the two gave many of the pain-related kinks, like spanking, a wider berth than they might otherwise have. Lucifer sometimes tied Sam up with some soft rope and teased him, but that was about it as far as BDSM was concerned.

The two picked out several pairs of panties for Lucifer and then continued to walk through the store, debating buying various items they spotted. A few ended up in their basket and amongst their purchases when they walked out of the store. 

"Howth your ear?" Lucifer asked, still sounding like some distant cousin of Igor. 

"It's fine. Better than your tongue, it sounds like," Sam teased, as he rearranged the bags in his hands. 

"Thath juth thwollen," Lucifer said, giving Sam a playful, light smack on the shoulder.

Sam just laughed. "Sure, Frankenstein."

"Ith Igor, 'n if you thethe me, I'mma noth gonna ever blow you with ith," Lucifer leveled a glare at Sam. 

"Fine, fine," Sam acquiesced, raising his hands in surrender. "It's almost dinner time...should we head back to the car?"

"Yeth," Lucifer replied, as they oriented themselves via street signs and started walking back to the garage where they'd left Sam's car. 

"Do you want to do a movie after this, or should we go home?" Sam asked. 

"Home," Lucifer replied, holding up their latest purchases with a grin. 

"Sounds good," Sam said. "Ellen should have left by now." 

"Mm-hmm," Lucifer agreed as he walked next to Sam. It had already been a perfect day--he hadn't expected to be able to talk Sam into a piercing--and there was still more to come. He'd completely forgotten about the hearing and his worries about what was going to happen to his younger brother. "'M really glad you thuthethed thith," he murmured. 

"Me too," Sam replied. "Now, let's get you something cold to drink to soothe your tongue and then get you home. _I_ have plans now," he explained, giving Lucifer a hungry look. 

Lucifer just grinned in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am either @MTC5 or @masterpieceofturkeycleverness on Tumblr. I don't know how to use Tumblr, which is why I don't actually know which one I am XD. Anyone for bringing back Livejournal? I understood Livejournal...also, I'm old.


	8. The hearing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hearing for Castiel's custody commences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter? Another chapter. I had a fit of 'I must start this' followed by a fit of 'I MUST FINISH THIS CHAPTER NOW' followed by like three hours of frantic writing and editing and not getting any actual work done.

It was the day of the hearing, they were in court, and Lucifer was about two seconds away from having a full-blown panic attack. Luckily, the hearing hadn't started yet. Unluckily, he had gotten a good look at the lawyer that was representing Chuck and Naomi. He'd grabbed both Meg and Sam by the elbow, stopping them as they walked in. "I know him," he hissed, pointing at the lawyer and beginning to shake. The swelling on his tongue piercing had gone down far enough that he no longer sounded like he belonged in a B horror movie, but, alas, not enough that he and Sam had been able to use the flavored condoms. 

"Hey--hey, Luce, it's okay," Sam said, wrapping an arm around his fiancé. He glanced at the other lawyer, who did look vaguely familiar, although Sam couldn't place him. "Who is he?"

"A friend of Zachariah's, Al. He- He--" Lucifer pressed himself into Sam's side. 

Meg's face became serious. "He was that one John who didn't pay, just traded favors with Zachariah, so we couldn't charge him?" It wasn't much of a question; the statement was more for Sam's benefit. Sam didn't know all of the details of the prostitution case because Lucifer hadn't wanted him to know absolutely everything. Lucifer just nodded in reply, tears starting to run down his face. 

Sam pulled out his handkerchief, and handed it to Lucifer. "Listen," Sam said. "We're not here about that. If he brings it up, he's going to look just as bad as you--worse, even. He won't want to do that to his clients. We're here for Castiel. I know how brave you can be. You faced Zachariah, and you faced those Johns and told the truth. Can you be brave for your brother today? And for me? You don't even have to look over at that walking piece of shit today. You can just look at me, or the judge, okay? The judge isn't going to listen to a man like that, anyway."

Lucifer hugged Sam close, trying to take deep breaths. Finally, he nodded. "''ll try," he murmured. When he pulled away, he wiped his face, blew his nose, and then very deliberately didn't look over at that side of the courtroom, focusing on their seats instead. 

"Okay. If you have to leave, that's okay too. Just remember, we're here for Castiel. You're not on trial." Sam was thinking ahead, wondering desperately how it would look if Lucifer left the courtroom and Sam had to go after him. He knew Meg would be able to explain it, but would the judge understand? Sam glanced over at Chuck and Naomi's lawyer, finally recalling that he had seen the man at Zachariah's trial. Sam had to look away after a moment or two, lest he be guilty of plotting murder while sitting in family court. 

The three of them took their seats shortly before the judge came in. Castiel was there with Victor by his side, sitting in between where Sam and Meg and Lucifer were and where Michael and his lawyer, Hester Holmes were; the latter two were next to Alistair, who was alone. Rafa hadn't been able to make it to the hearing, although she had submitted a signed, notarized statement detailing her own abuse at Chuck and Naomi's hands and what she knew of how they treated Castiel. Meg had, in turn, submitted that to the judge along with all of the evidence that CPS, the forensic psychologist, and others had collected.

Pamela Barnes was present, as was Ronald (who pointedly sat down behind Sam and Lucifer and Meg, next to Garth, who was there in case they needed a character witness for Lucifer) and a few other social workers. Pamela was directly behind Castiel and Victor, while the rest of the social workers were largely somewhere in between Ron and Pamela, with a few behind Michael and Hester, possibly due to preference or space considerations. Alistair's corner of the room was very noticeably empty. 

The Honorable Judge Jody Mills came in, and everyone stood. She waved for all of them to sit down once she had taken their seats. "All right, ladies and gentlemen," she said, looking around at those gathered. "We are here today to choose legal guardians for Castiel Shurley. Please understand that I have already looked over all of the evidence that was brought to me in this case; this hearing will be fairly short, NOT because this matter is not important," and here she looked directly at Castiel, "But because I have four other custody hearings scheduled for today. So, _please_ keep any statements brief. I will give each of the lawyers here five minutes to make an opening summary statement. Mr. Rolston, since you represent Castiel's current legal guardians, I will hear from you first."

Sam gripped Lucifer's hand tightly as the man Lucifer had pointed out earlier rose and stood in front of a podium in front of the judge's stand. "Thank you, your honor. Your honor, with all due respect, I feel that the Court is overstepping itself. My clients in this case are being assumed guilty in this hearing, even though their criminal trials have yet to occur and their guilt has therefore not yet been ascertained. I am confident that a full criminal trial will allow them to demonstrate their innocence. This has all been the result of a teenage boy with an overactive imagination rebelling against his parents, and I'm sure a jury will agree with me. After all, we all know what rebels teenagers can be. Once all the facts have come to light, I'm certain my clients will be found not guilty. Secondly, the Court is treading dangerously close to restricting my clients' right to peacefully practice their religion. While they deny many of the allegations of child abuse that have been leveled at them, they freely admit they are strict with him, as their Church preaches. Under the law, they have the right to discipline their child as they see fit, within certain restrictions, of course. They maintain that they have not exceeded those restrictions and that to be told to not discipline their child strictly is a breach of their right to the freedom of religion. Finally, if it is the will of the court that this child be taken away from them until they are able to prove their innocence, they plead that he not be placed with Mr. Winchester and Lucifer Shurley. These two men are perversions according to their Church's teachings." The lawyer didn't look back at Sam and Lucifer, for which Sam was glad, but there was something about the set of his shoulders that made Sam want to put a knife in between them. "In fact, up until very recently, one of the two--Lucifer Shurley--worked as a male prostitute. Even someone who is not religious can see that that is not the best parent for a child. Therefore, if the Court is unwilling to place Castiel back into my clients' custody for the time being, they would like to see Castiel placed with his brother Michael Shurley and his wife Anna so that Castiel can remain in the town where he currently resides and stay in the Church with all of his friends."

Needless to say, Sam was seeing red-- _especially_ since Lucifer had buried his head in Sam's handkerchief and was now shaking. Meg had leaned forward and scribbled some notes as Alistair was talking, and Sam let her do her job as he rubbed Lucifer's back and glared daggers at Alistair. Sure, he had expected one of the lawyers to bring the prostitution up--it was, unfortunately, low-hanging fruit--but he had at least expected them to be slightly diplomatic about it, especially with Castiel in the courtroom.

"Thank you, Mr. Rolston. Ms. Holmes?" Judge Mills prompted. Alistair waited until he had taken his seat and the judge was watching Michael's lawyer walk up to the podium to turn a triumphant look toward Sam and Lucifer. 

Sam very nearly came up out of his chair; he must have visibly shifted, because several hands were suddenly tugging on the back of his suit. "Don't, man," he heard Garth whisper. "That's what he wants--if you lose it with him, they'll never give you custody." Sam ground his teeth, but he knew Garth was right. Sam made an effort and settled back in his chair, folded his arms across his chest, and looked toward Hester's back instead of over at Alistair. 

"Your Honor," Ms. Holmes stated, "Guilty in a criminal trial or not, the evidence of abuse is, quite simply, overwhelming. It is not just Castiel who has leveled these accusations, but all three of the other Shurley brothers. None of them wishes to see Castiel stay with his parents and continue to be subjected to egregious mental and physical abuse such as name-calling, being struck with a belt and having to literally wash his own mouth out with soap. Yes, the Church does teach parents to be strict with their children, but it certainly does not teach parents to abuse their children. My clients, Michael and Anna Shurley, are raising four children in the Church. CPS has found absolutely no evidence of child abuse in their home, although they looked for it. Michael loves his brother Castiel, and only wants to do what is best for him. Michael and Anna are members of the PTA at their school, attend church regularly, and already have experience with child-rearing. They live in Redding, so Castiel could continue to attend the same high school and keep the friends he has already made there. Michael does not doubt the sincerity of his brother Lucifer in wanting to care for Castiel, but he doubts his lack of experience in child-rearing and whether or not Lucifer's lifestyle as an 'artist' truly lends itself to taking care of a teenager. We were not made aware of any allegations of prostitution, but of course that would call into account his suitability as a parent as well. We urge the Court to allow Castiel to stay where he is now, in Michael and Anna's capable hands, until he is 18." Ms. Holmes nodded to the judge, and then turned to take her seat. 

"Thank you, Ms. Holmes. Ms. Masters?" Judge Mills looked thoughtful. Sam couldn't blame either the judge or the lawyer for picking up on the prostitution angle; he just had to have faith that Meg would adequately address it. Lucifer was looking up at the judge again, having wiped away his tears, but he was a sickly shade of green-white instead of his normal healthy pink. Sam felt awful for him, and wished even harder that he could punch Alistair in the face without being arrested for assault and battery.

"Thank you, Your Honor. I represent Mr. Winchester and Mr. Shurley, soon to be Mr. and Mr. Winchester. They wish to have custody of Castiel until he is 18. While they believe that Michael and Anna's home is perfectly acceptable in many ways, they do not feel that it is inclusive. There is a chance that Castiel may not be heterosexual, but Michael and Anna have already been pressuring him to find a girlfriend in the Church they attend. We do not believe that a strict religious household is a good environment for a potentially queer child to grow up in. Michael and Anna also want Castiel to have nothing to do with his other brother and his sister, and refuse to speak to or about Lucifer and Rafa Shurley any more than is absolutely necessary. My clients, on the other hand, would be happy for Michael and Anna to retain visitation rights if they are granted custody, and will allow Castiel to decide how much he wishes to interact with his oldest brother. We agree with Ms. Hester that the evidence for child abuse in the home of Chuck and Naomi Shurley is overwhelming, and add our voice to the chorus that Castiel not be made to stay with his parents after everything that has happened. Since Mr. Rolston brought up the prostitution issue, we wish to face it head-on. However, we would rather not do so in front of Castiel, given his age. Would you be willing to excuse Castiel for a few minutes while we deal with this subject, Your Honor?"

Judge Mills pursed her lips, then nodded. "Castiel," she said, in a much kinder tone than the one she'd been employing with the lawyers, "Could you please step into my office, over there? Please walk all the way into the chamber with the desk. Mr. Henricksen will come get you when we're finished with this topic." 

Castiel looked thoroughly confused and somewhat uncertain, but nodded and followed the judge's instructions. Once he did, Meg resumed. "Thank you, Your Honor. As you know, I have submitted evidence showing that my client was forced into prostitution by an abusive boyfriend, which he stayed with for many years due to the abuse he suffered at the hands of Chuck and Naomi Shurley. It also shows that he willingly agreed to testify against his partner and pimp and against a number of the Johns involved in the case. He has cooperated with the police at every step, and he has not even been _accused_ of any wrongdoing, even speeding, since then. I have a character witness that is willing to testify to everything I have said, if you would like. I could also," and her tone turned frosty but she didn't glance in his direction, "call Mr. Rolston himself as a witness, as my client was forced to have sex with him in return for 'favors' and still bears the scars where Mr. Rolston carved into his flesh with a knife during sex."

Sam went white this time. He'd seen those scars, of course, but Lucifer had never explained them to him. Sam had figured that he'd gotten them as a kid or something, never imagining that they'd been the result of Zachariah's (albeit indirect) abuse. As for Alistair, he was very much trying to figure out how to kill him and remain a lawyer, family court be damned. Meanwhile, Lucifer's face was still buried in Sam's handkerchief, and his ears were bright red. 

"Your Honor, I object! I am not the one seeking custody here! What I have or have not done has no bearing on this case!" Alistair broke in, sounding like he was only barely holding his temper in check. 

"Quiet, Mr. Rolston. I will not hesitate to throw you out of this hearing," Judge Mills ordered, looking thoughtful again as she eyed Lucifer and Sam. "Ms. Masters, this is irregular, but given the sensitive nature of what he would be testifying to, would you please bring your character witness up now? Mr. Henriksen, I apologize; you will be given your turn to make your statement once we have dealt with this particular issue."

"That's fine, Your Honor," Victor said, leaning back in his seat as Meg indicated that Garth should walk up to the podium with her. "I'd like to hear this as well."

Garth made it to the podium, only tripping once, and explained how he was Lucifer's therapist, and how he had been granted the right to discuss this case despite patient confidentiality ('Just like attorney-client privilege!') by Lucifer for the purposes of this hearing. He gave all of his credentials for the record, including his specialization in domestic abuse cases, and then proceeded to explain how Zachariah had forced Lucifer to prostitute himself and the psychology behind Lucifer's decision-making at the time. He ended his short lecture by explaining why Lucifer was so upset at the moment, with one of his tormentors actually physically present in the room, and how much ground Lucifer had gained in terms of mental health in the past two years. "I believe part of the reason for that, Your Honor, is his supportive partner, Sam Winchester. Sam has been able to undo a great deal of the brainwashing that Chuck Shurley and Zachariah Noble did to Lucifer in a very short amount of time. I think Sam would make an excellent parent for a previously abused child, for that reason alone. Hell, I wish he and Lucifer were my dads! They'd be every bit as good as Bill and Thel! ...You know, from the Family Circus?" he added, when no one seemed to have any idea what he meant. 

"Ah. I have one more question for you, Mr. Fitzgerald, while you're at the stand. Do you believe that Lucifer has healed mentally to the point where he is ready to take on the serious responsibility of being a parent to a teenage boy?" Judge Mills asked.

"Yup!" Garth told her happily. 

When that seemed to be all he was going to say, Judge Mills nodded at him. "Please sit back down, Mr. Fitzgerald. Is there anything else that anyone else would like to bring up regarding Mr. Shurley's former prostitution, before we allow Castiel back into the courtroom?" When Alistair just sulked and Hester looked thoughtful but then shook her head no, Judge Mills gestured to Victor. "Please go bring Castiel back, Mr. Henriksen. Ms. Masters, was there more you wished to say?"

"In the interests of time, Your Honor, I'll forego the rest of my short statement," Meg replied. Sam glanced at her--it was a risk, but not a big one, as they could always bring up additional points with witnesses or in closing. 

"Thank you. Mr. Henricksen, it is your turn," Judge Mills told him, as he walked back in with Castiel. Castiel sat down, and Victor made his way over to the podium. 

"Your Honor, as you know, it is my job to represent the best interests as well as the wishes of my client, Castiel Shurley, who is 14 and therefore of an age to make his wishes known to the Court. His wishes are simple--he does not, under any circumstances, want to have any further contact with his biological parents. I agree that this is also in his best interests, both from personal conversations with him and from all of the evidence that was submitted to you. As for the best place for him, he would like to move in immediately with Mr. Winchester and Mr. Shurley, although he would like to still be able to speak to his eldest brother and his family. He is not sure what his sexual orientation is, but he wants the ability to explore it in an inclusive environment, as my colleague Ms. Masters mentioned. Furthermore, my client is an atheist," there was an audible gasp from Michael, "and does not feel that he would be welcome to share his ideas and thoughts and questions in Mr. and Mrs. Shurley's home. He does not wish to be forced to go to church any longer or to obey Church rules, including those that prevent him from pursuing his interest in entomology. It is absolutely ridiculous," he added, with a glance over at Alistair, "To say that this intelligent, thoughtful boy has 'made up' these allegations in order to rebel. I assure you, Your Honor, despite the fact that he believes he is an atheist, rebelling is one of the furthest things from his mind. In fact, he read the entire Bible before making a decision about whether or not he believed in God, wanting to make sure that he gave both views an equal amount of critical thought. As for what is in his best interests, there is just over a month left of school. I would argue that it would be best for him to spend at least weekdays with Michael Shurley until he has finished his freshman year so that there are minimal disruptions to his schooling. After watching both sets of potential parents interact with Castiel, as well as touring both their homes and sitting in on their interviews with CPS, my opinion is that it would be in Castiel's best interests to grant Mr. Winchester and Mr. Shurley full custody of Castiel as soon as the school year has finished." 

For the first time during the hearing, Lucifer was looking hopeful. Sam was incredibly pleased by Victor's words; it meant a lot to him that they'd been able to earn the tough family lawyer's respect. 

"Thank you, Mr. Henricksen. I would like to follow up on a point you brought up. Ms. Holmes, how comfortable is your client taking in an avowed atheist?" Judge Mills gave Ms. Holmes a moment or two to confer with Michael. 

"Your Honor, my client is still happy to accept Castiel into his home; he would just ask that Castiel not share his thoughts on religion with the other children, who are too young to make an informed decision. Castiel would also be required to attend Church, as it is a family activity," Hester said after a whispered conversation. Sam saw Castiel push his glasses up his nose and lean over to whisper something to Victor, looking upset. 

"Very well. Ms. Masters, what would happen if Castiel changed his mind and decided he wanted to attend church again when he was older?" Judge Mills asked their lawyer. Castiel scoffed, and Victor leveled a Look at his client. Sam just nodded to Meg; they'd already discussed this. 

"In that case, Mr. Winchester would take Castiel to whichever church he wanted to attend, Your Honor," Meg explained smoothly. "Lucifer Shurley has anxiety issues that would prevent him from attending church with them."

"Why not just drop Castiel off?" Judge Mills asked, whip-quick. 

Meg nodded again; they'd already discussed this. "Given some of the recent issues with pedophilia and churches, my clients want to make sure that Castiel has adequate supervision while there. They also would want to be able to talk with him about whatever topics might come up in a sermon, for example." 

Judge Mills nodded, conceding the point. "All right. I wish to ask some questions of Mr. Smith and Ms. Barnes, and then I am happy to listen to statements from any additional witnesses you have brought." 

She proceeded to do just that. The lead investigator from CPS, Mr. Smith, answered some questions, and then Pamela Barnes, the forensic psychologist, gave her opinion on the case (she agreed with Victor that it would be best for Castiel to finish out the school year at Michael's and then stay permanently with Sam and Lucifer). After that, the lawyers were allowed to bring witnesses up. Alistair brought a woman from the Church who had obviously drunk the Kool-aid, and Judge Mills had to reprimand her at one point for a term she used to describe Sam and Lucifer. Michael had brought a character witness as well, a babysitter of theirs from the Church, who managed to seem more intelligent than the woman at least three times her age that Alistair had brought. 

Since Garth had already spoken and Pamela, Mr. Smith, and Victor were behind Sam and Lucifer's bid for custody, Judge Mills then asked the lawyers to give their closing statements. These sounded much like their opening statements, although Alistair's tone was now sulky and Meg sounded pleased. Hester finished with an impassioned plea for Judge Mills to leave Castiel in Michael's custody. 

"Very well. Given everything that I have heard today and after considering all of the evidence that was submitted, I am ready to make a ruling on the custody of Castiel Shurley," Judge Mills announced. This time, Lucifer sought Sam's hand to squeeze. "Until the school year ends, Mr. Winchester and Mr. Lucifer Shurley will share joint custody of Castiel with Mr. and Mrs. Michael Shurley, with the Shurleys having him on school days and Mr. Winchester and Mr. Lucifer Shurley having him on weekends. Mr. Winchester and Mr. Shurley will be responsible for driving to Redding, picking Castiel up from the Shurleys' house on Friday after school has let out but before 8PM and for making sure that he arrives back in the Shurley household no later than 8PM on Sunday evenings. After the school year has finished, I am granting Mr. Winchester and Mr. Lucifer Shurley sole custody of Castiel. However, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Shurley will retain visiting rights, to be worked out between Ms. Masters and Ms. Holmes. As for Mr. Chuck Shurley and Mrs. Naomi Shurley," she added, glancing over at Alistair with a frown, "*IF* they are found not guilty of child abuse, we can hold another hearing to discuss the case. Until then, I am not granting them any visitation rights."

"Your honor--" Alistair tried to cut her off. 

Judge Mills picked up her gavel and smacked it down. "Mr. Rolston. I have heard _more_ than enough from you. Don't think you can talk over me just because I'm a woman. Be quiet; if you can't, I'll hold you in contempt and make sure they disbar you this time." Apparently, this was a recurring problem with Alistair. Sam wasn't the least bit surprised.

The judge turned away from a gaping Alistair and looked at the rest of them. "Be aware that this is a temporary ruling. Should Castiel begin having problems while in Mr. Winchester and Mr. Shurley's custody, or if CPS has any concerns, we can revisit this arrangement." She waited for everyone to nod, seemed to take note of the huge smile on Castiel's face, and then smacked her gavel down again. "Court is adjourned, then," she announced, "I will reconvene for the next case at 10:30." They all stood and waited for her to leave the courtroom. As soon as she had, the buzz of excited chatter broke out. Ms. Holmes had turned to Michael to speak with him, and Alistair was slinking out a side-door, but everyone else seemed to want to come up to Sam and Lucifer and congratulate the brand-new parents. 

At least, that was the case until a dark-haired phenomenon that seemed to be made up entirely of elbows and knees made its way through the crowd and threw its arms around Lucifer. "Thank you, Lu!" Castiel exclaimed, hugging Lucifer tight. The adults quieted down a bit, watching the two brothers. "What should I pack for this weekend? Besides my homework and books and things, of course." 

Lucifer, who looked rather shell-shocked, finally laughed and ruffled Castiel's hair--it wasn't as if he could make it any messier--before he hugged him back. "You're welcome, little bro. And--whatever you want! Maybe some old, junky clothes; we could paint your new room, if you can decide on a color."

Castiel looked up from Lucifer's chest. "Why would I want my room to be a certain color?"

Sam couldn't help it. He chuckled, slipped an arm around Lucifer, and then began to accept more congratulations from the nearby adults as Lucifer did his best to answer Castiel's question. He heard his fiancé and his new...god, his new son...finally settle on a light blue 'the color of the sky over the ocean on a nice day,' and tried not to faint at the realization that he was a parent now. He was surprised, but pleased, when Castiel suddenly detached from Lucifer long enough to hug him. "Thank you, Mr. Winchester," Castiel told him, as sincere as ever. 

"You're very welcome, Castiel," Sam replied. He couldn't help but ruffle his hair as well--it was just so ruffleable. Which wasn't a word, but Sam didn't care. 

Eventually, Castiel walked back over to Michael and his lawyer--it was a Thursday, so he'd be going home with Michael and Sam and Lucifer would pick him up the following day. Garth insisted on giving both Lucifer and Sam giant hugs, and then hugged Meg for good measure. Victor looked as if he was next in line, but somehow he sidestepped while Garth was hugging Meg and made his way toward the exit, waving, before getting Garthed. Meanwhile, Sam and Lucifer shook Meg's hand and thanked her for everything. "You know where to send the check," she replied with a grin. 

With the courtroom clearing out (and Ron grabbing Lucifer's arm to tell him that if he ever needed anything or any help with parenting, Ron was there for them), Sam walked over to Michael, who stiffly shook his hand. "We can pick him up anytime after school tomorrow," Sam told Michael. "What would be most convenient for you and your wife?" 

Michael thought a moment, clearly uncomfortable but also resigned to the fact that they had to have this short conversation. "Would 4:30 work? He gets out of school at 3:30, so that would give him an hour to get ready." 

"Sure. We'll be there right at 4:30. We'll get the address from Castiel. And--" Sam was determined to try to, if not bridge the gap, at least push a plank partway out into the chasm and nail it in place. "We meant what our lawyer said about visitation. You and your family are welcome to visit Castiel over the summer, or we could drive up and drop him off with you if you want. Just let us know, and we can work out a schedule. Finally, thank you so much for being there for him over the past month. Knowing he was in safe hands meant a great deal to us." 

"...You're welcome," Michael said, his posture still stiff as he turned away from Sam. "Let's go home, Castiel." He placed a hand on the teenager's back and steered him toward the exit. 

Sam watched them go with a mental shrug; he hoped Michel would eventually warm up to them, but at this point, he wasn't holding his breath. "See you tomorrow, Castiel," he called after the teenager, who gave him a little wave in return. 

Lucifer walked up beside Sam, took his hand, and intertwined their fingers. "...We're dads now," he said, his tone just as shell-shocked as the look on his face. Then, he started to grin mischievously, opening his mouth just enough that Sam could see the barbell in his tongue. "You know what _that_ means." 

Sam groaned. As it turned out, Lucifer -had- had plans beyond the ear and tongue piercing; he just hadn't revealed them until Sam had had a couple of days to get used to the new stud in his ear. Sam was not a huge fan of what Lucifer had in mind, and he still wasn't sure if he'd go through with it, but he had to admit that his fiancé had made a pretty good argument for why they should have it done now. *IF* they had it done. Well, if Sam was; he was pretty sure Lucifer had already made up his mind to follow through.

Lucifer just laughed at Sam's reaction as they walked out of the courtroom. "C'mon, let's go home and have fun taking the measurements and getting it all out of our system before we have to start pretending to be responsible adults tomorrow at 4:30."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...When you find yourself looking up the names of the parents in the Family Circus...
> 
> I'm @Masterpieceofturkeycleverness on Tumblr. I think. I'm pretty sure now.


	9. You may wish to skip this one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Um, so...I hadn't meant to write this. But Sam insisted on getting the story of what Alistair did to him out of Lucifer. I've put this in its own, short chapter so that you can completely skip it if you want. You know enough about what happened from the last chapter to go straight to the next one if what Alistair did squicks you out; nothing happens here except Sam and Lucifer discussing the event. 
> 
> In case it wasn't obvious from the above paragraph: GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF NON-CON CUTTING AND VERY DUBIOUS CON SEX; SKIP IF SQUICK. 
> 
> ...I can't believe I have to put non-con on this story; it was never my intention. I'm blaming Alistair and Zachariah. They deserve all the blame. And also to die a horrible Game of Thrones-style death.

When Sam and Lucifer got home, Lucifer tried to drag Sam upstairs to test out the new soundproofing (both Ellen and Jo were downstairs). They only made it to the top of the stairs, however, before Sam gently pulled away. "Luce? We need to talk about something first."

Lucifer looked up at his boyfriend, and his face fell. He heaved a sigh and stepped away from Sam, looking down at his feet. "Al," he guessed, in a flat tone. 

"Yeah, but--Luce, listen to me, okay?" Sam said, stepping closer and reaching for his boyfriend's arm, giving him the opportunity to pull away further if he wanted, "I'm not angry with you for not telling me. I understand why you didn't want to. And I know you didn't know that Alistair was Al until you saw him at the hearing. And you -know- I'm not mad at you about what he and Zachariah did to you. It wasn't your fault. I just--I wanted to give you a chance to talk about it. If you don't want to, you don't have to. But if you want to, I'm here for you."

Lucifer let Sam gently grasp his arm rather than pulling away. He stared at the floor as Sam spoke, but it was clear he was listening. When Sam finished, he stayed silent a moment, then finally nodded. "Okay. In the bedroom," because this was something he really didn't want Ellen or Jo to overhear, "And...will you make love to me, afterwards?" It was the last thing he had been thinking about just moments ago, but suddenly it was all he wanted. 

"Of course, Luce." Sam pressed a kiss to his cheek, and then led Lucifer down the hallway and into the bedroom. He helped Lucifer out of his suit jacket, took off his own, and then joined Lucifer, who had sat down on the edge of their bed. Sam pulled Lucifer close with one arm, and began running his hand up and down the other man's arm. Then, he simply waited patiently until Lucifer felt ready to talk. 

Lucifer leaned against Sam, and gathered his mental strength. "There's really not much you don't know," he mumbled finally. "Al was a friend of Zach's; he'd come over every once in a while, and they'd go out to have drinks or dinner or something. I don't know if they were fucking each other or not. After Zach got fired... I didn't hear them say anything to each other. They just came in one day and Zach said that Al--Alistair would do us a favor if he could fuck me. Zach said we really needed the help, and that he didn't have a problem sharing me with his friend. I--" Lucifer broke off, unable to complete the sentence. 

Sam hugged Lucifer tight, and began rocking him back and forth. "It's okay," he told his boyfriend, tears running down his cheeks. "I know. You didn't want to, but you said yes. You didn't have a choice." Sam knew exactly what Zachariah would've done to Lucifer if he hadn't agreed. 

Lucifer hiccuped, and nodded, leaving his own wet patches on Sam's shirt where he'd buried his face. It took him a minute or two, but finally he continued. "So he--it happened a few times. At first, it was just sex, but then one time...I didn't even see the knife before he used it. I screamed, and tried to get away, but he held me down. He must've...he must've...Zach didn't come in to check on me." Lucifer broke down completely at this, sobbing into Sam's chest. 

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Luce." Sam felt helpless as he kept repeating the phrase, wishing he could go back in time and make sure none of it ever happened. 

Lucifer cried for a while, then wiped at his eyes and tried to continue the story. "Zach just...just laughed when he saw the bandage, after," he stuttered. "And--and--he kept--he let--it--it," again, he couldn't finish the sentence. 

"It happened several times?" Sam guessed, voice rough with emotion. There were four or five scars on Lucifer's back, he knew. 

"...Yeah," Lucifer mumbled, breaking down entirely again. Sam held him close, both of them crying--Sam into Lucifer's hair, Lucifer into Sam's shirt. 

They remained like that for some time, until Lucifer finally broke away to retrieve tissues for them both. "Thank you for telling me," Sam finally managed, once they'd both blown their noses and Sam had wrapped his arms around his fiancé again. "I am so sorry, Luce. I wish it had never happened. I wish I'd met you ages ago and had been able to get you away from all that. Just remember, it's not your fault. It's something they did to you. And I'm not upset with you at all. I'm upset with them." 

Lucifer only managed to nod, but he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, letting himself hold him and be held by him. It was some time before either of them moved.


	10. Lucifer's evil plan revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the hearing, plus Lucifer's 'evil' plan is revealed!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *nudges the chapter count up by one* This one got too long to also include their first weekend with Castiel...
> 
> Discusses piercing, but no actual needles are present. 
> 
> Does not discuss The Thing from the last chapter, so if you skipped it, you're good now.

Sam finally brushed Lucifer's hair away from his face and shifted his position so that they were facing more toward each other. He waited until Lucifer glanced up through his lashes to ask, "Do you still want me to make love to you? It's okay if you're not in the mood any more." 

Lucifer searched Sam's face as he thought about it. He was still dealing with the idea of a boyfriend who actually asked what he wanted, let alone the idea of one who was as patient and understanding as Sam was. At least he now knew that Sam meant what he said, that Sam wasn't upset with him and that it really would be all right if Lucifer wasn't in the mood. Which was good, because their earlier discussion had completely ruined it. "Not right now," he admitted. "Maybe later? Could we...take a bath together?"

"Sure," Sam replied with a small, sad smile. "Tell you what, Luce. You go start running the water and pick out a bath bomb, and I'll go downstairs and get some snacks for us." 

"Unhealthy snacks," Lucifer requested, as he stood and headed for the bathroom. "Ice cream?"

Sam had to chuckle. "Fine. Just this once." He blew his nose on another tissue, tossed it into the wastebasket, and then opened the bedroom door and headed downstairs to the kitchen...where he found an extremely annoyed Ellen. 

"Samuel Lewis Winchester," she said, turning around and brandishing a wet wooden spoon at him, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, coming in here and going upstairs without telling me and Jo how the hearing went. You tell us right now!"

"Yeah, spill!" called Jo, whose voice was coming from another room but getting closer. "Is Castiel coming?"

Sam blushed. He hadn't meant to leave the two out of the loop; he'd just been distracted by Lucifer. "Yes," he said, making sure he was loud enough for Jo to hear, though she came around the corner almost immediately, "For weekends until the school year's out. Then he'll be staying here permanently, as long as everything goes okay." 

Both Ellen and Jo squealed (although Ellen would deny making the high-pitched noise later) and threw their arms around him, cooking spoon and all. At least it looked as if it only had water on it. "Congratulations, Dad," Ellen said, pulling back and giving him a light punch to the ribs. 

"I'm so happy for you!" enthused Jo, continuing to hug the much larger man. "And him! When can I meet him? I can work next Saturday instead of Friday. Can I work next Saturday?" She finally let Sam go.

"Thanks," Sam replied, glad that it had been him and not Lucifer who had walked into this. Ellen (especially) and Jo were normally laid-back, but occasionally even they got overly excited. "Sure, you can work next Saturday and meet him then," he added. "You know the drill, just send me a tally of your hours." 

"I'm coming over too," Ellen said. "You three can be on your own on Friday, but I'll cook for all of us on Saturday." 

"You don't have to--" Sam started, but Ellen cut him off, tapping her finger against his lips. 

"Sam Winchester, I want to, and I will, and that's final," Ellen replied. "Besides, I need to meet Castiel too. Jo and I had to go through all those background checks to even be around him, so if we say we're coming over to meet him, we're coming over to meet him. And I'm cooking." 

"All right, all right," Sam relented, holding his hands up in defeat. "But you'll see him plenty once school's out."

"I get to be the cool aunt! I get to be the cool aunt!" Jo cried, doing a little dance. 

"Go finish dusting, Aunt Cool," Ellen told her, though she was smiling fondly. Jo disappeared back toward the room from whence she'd come, and Ellen leaned back against a counter. "Are you ready?" she asked Sam. 

"Are you ever ready?" Sam asked, smiling, as he walked over to the refrigerator and rummaged around in the freezer until he found a pint of fancy chocolate ice cream that Lucifer liked. 

"Nope, not even when they come out of your own body," Ellen replied. "You'll spoil lunch," she added, spotting the dessert and frowning. 

"I know, but Luce needs it," he explained. "Chuck and Naomi's lawyer turned out to be a friend of Zachariah's."

Ellen's face immediately started to resemble a thundercloud. "You're kidding," she said. 

"Wish I was."

"Fuck that cocksucker, the bitch who bore him, and his motherfucking demon of a fucking father," Ellen swore, opening a nearby drawer and then handing Sam two spoons. "So help me, if I could get my hands on him, I'd--"

"He's a gay man in prison," Sam reminded her gently, accepting the spoons. "I doubt there's much you could do to him that's not already being done." 

"Thank god," she muttered. "You two go right ahead and spoil lunch as much as you need to," she added, before turning back to her cooking. 

"We will. Thanks, Ellen," Sam said before turning around and leaving the kitchen. He heard her say, 'You're welcome,' as he started climbing up the stairs. He made his way back to the bedroom, closed the door behind him, and then went into the bathroom, where he found Lucifer already soaking in their extra-large bathtub. The water was orange and smelled of citrus. "Hey, sweetie," he said, setting the ice cream and spoons down on the edge of the tub. "Sorry it took so long. Ellen and Jo wanted to know how the hearing had gone."

"That's okay," his fiancé replied, giving him a small smile. Lucifer had already washed his face, and as a result he looked a little better than he had just minutes ago. "Come join me?"

"Sure." Sam smiled at him, then began to shed his clothes. Sam folded them and laid them on a nearby table, on top of Lucifer's clothes. When he was done, Lucifer scooted forward, and Sam stepped in behind him. Sam had made certain the tub was roomy enough for *him*, which meant that it could comfortably hold the two of them. 

Lucifer laid back against Sam once they'd finished arranging their legs. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, Sam; I must've done it in a former life, because I certainly haven't done anything good enough in -this- one." 

"You've done plenty of good, Lucifer," Sam replied, kissing Lucifer's hair and wrapping his arms around him. "And you deserve to have a wonderful life. -I'm- the lucky one; you chose me to have it with." Sam knew that Lucifer might argue, so before he could, Sam added, "Ice cream first? Or wash first?"

"Ice cream," Lucifer replied immediately. They'd taken showers this morning, so it wasn't as if they really needed to get clean. 

Sam chuckled, and then began to spoon-feed his fiancé the ice cream. 

\---------------------------------------------------

Lucifer had felt considerably better after the bath and ice cream, so the two of them had made love, looking into each other's eyes and hating the fact that there was still an embargo on mouth-to-mouth transfer of germs. Sam made a decent attempt at kissing Lucifer everywhere _else_ , but they both definitely missed the feeling of the other exploring their mouth. 

When they were finished, they laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "...I should paint that," Lucifer murmured. 

Sam scoffed, but only lightly. "Only if you promise to do it ergonomically." 

Lucifer let out a short laugh. "I don't think that's possible, Sam." 

Sam sighed theatrically. "Fine, just don't get any paint on our bed." 

"I won't," Lucifer promised, leaning over to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek. He was feeling much better, Zachariah and Alistair nearly forgotten. "Now...should we take some measurements?" he asked with a mischievous smile. 

"Are you sure about this?" Sam asked, sitting up and then turning to face Lucifer. "I can't even _kiss_ you right now, and I'm going crazy. How are we going to not have sex for like nine months?"

"It's not nine months, and it's not /no/ sex," Lucifer replied as he sat up as well. He was trying to be as patient as his boyfriend, but he'd explained this a few times already. "I told you. I admit, we're probably not going to _want_ sex for the first month or so. But after that, we can use condoms until the time is up. It's just like with my mouth--once it heals enough, we can do whatever we want as long as we don't get your bacteria in my wound and vice-versa." 

"I don't know," Sam admitted. "Doesn't it hurt like hell?"

"For a while, yeah," Lucifer said. "It's like being kicked in the balls when the needle goes in. But after...you know how good my piercing feels when it's inside you and I'm on top. Now imagine having that _every time we have sex_ , no matter what position we're in. Both of us." 

Sam leaned back against the headboard. That did sound good, but... "I'm afraid," he said. "What if I can't handle the pain? What if it gets infected?" 

Lucifer leaned his forehead against Sam's shoulder. God grant him patience... "You've been kicked in the balls before, right?" he asked. When he felt Sam nod, he said, "Then you'll be fine. I promise. I've done it, and I don't like pain any more than you do." 

Sam opened his mouth and -almost- said something about Lucifer being more used to pain than he was, but thankfully his brain caught up to his mouth before his foot inserted itself. He just remained silent, instead. 

"Look. If it's truly awful and you can't handle it, you can take it out and let it heal up afterwards. At least come see the piercer with me tomorrow. Whatever you decide, I'm going to get a full Apadravya next week. You haven't even seen anyone, so we don't know if you could even get one; everyone's different. Hell, I'm not sure they make jewelry that big." Lucifer lifted up his head, and gave Sam a grin. 

"I'll come," Sam replied. "But I'm making no promises to actually get my dick pierced. Are you _sure_ this is a good idea, with Castiel coming to the house?"

"You're the one who pointed out that caring for a teenager is going to put a damper on our sex life," Lucifer responded, poking Sam in the chest. "If we have to go without sex for a while anyway, we might as well get pierced and use the time to heal. And if we're both healing, then we only have to go without sex once, when we're both healing, instead of once when I'm healing and then again when you're healing." 

Sam sighed. "That makes sense. You know it's not that I don't want to make you happy, right? It's just--I'm scared. And this is a big deal." 

Lucifer shook his head, though there was fondness in his tone when he said, "Actually, Castiel coming to stay with us is a _much_ bigger deal. And I barely had to say anything to get you to do that."

Sam shot him a bitchface. "That's different and you know it." 

"Sure it is, Sam," Lucifer replied, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "Let me take your measurements, anyway?"

"Fine. Get out your ruler already," Sam grumbled. As far as he was concerned, Lucifer was having _way_ too much fun with this.

\---------------------------------------------------

The next day, they went to the most reputable piercing place that Lucifer had been able to find (knowing his fiancé wouldn't even consider anything less). The piercer, a man of African descent named Gordon, walked Lucifer through the procedure, explaining that he'd just be elongating the hole that his Prince Albert piercing was already in. He took his own measurements on Lucifer, checked the accuracy of those that Lucifer had taken, and then pronounced him ready for the following week. 

Sam blushed fiercely when it was his turn to, well, pull out his dick, but he did so. Gordon at least acted like a professional and didn't make any comments. Instead, the piercer took some measurements, considered, held up a few pieces of jewelry to measure against Sam, and then nodded. "You'd be fine with an Apadravya too, if that's what you want. Most men get Prince Alberts, but your boyfriend's right--if you're going to get the full one, you might as well get both sides pierced at once." 

Sam had been desperately hoping that there would be something that prevented him from getting a piercing, so he shot another bitchface at Lucifer when his fiancé punched the air and yelled, "Yes!" In fact, Sam glared at him through Gordon's entire explanation of what such a piercing would involve, where it would go, aftercare, and the like. Sam had heard it all from Lucifer already, so he didn't pay much attention to Gordon as he turned his back on them both and tucked himself back inside his clothing. 

Lucifer grabbed his arm as soon as they were back in the waiting area and steered him to a quiet corner. He'd gotten much better at reading Sam, so he already knew what the look on Sam's face meant. "Please, Sam?" he wheedled, looking up at the taller man through his lashes, using his best puppy-dog eyes. "Please, just try it? For me? I'll--I don't know, I'll do anything you want, I'll--" his face lit up as inspiration struck, "I'll teach Castiel to drive!" he finally exclaimed. "You do this next week with me, and you don't ever have to worry about getting into a car with a teenager. Unless we decide to have more kids later," he added hastily. 

Sam tried to keep up his glare, but he couldn't. Not when his fiancé broke out the puppy-dog eyes and offered to do a different thing Sam was also dreading. He finally just sighed, conceding defeat. "All right. But I go first this time, I'm -not- looking, and if it hurts too much or gets snagged in my clothes or is uncomfortable or whatever, it comes out."

The force of Lucifer's sudden hug was nearly enough to knock Sam over; luckily, he was able to stick out a hand and brace himself against the wall. "Woah, Luce," he wheezed, "if I'd known you wanted it this badly, I'd've held out for you doing both the Talk _and_ driving," he teased. 

"No, silly. We're going to give him the Talk together," Lucifer replied, pulling away far enough to show Sam his ear-splitting grin. "Thank you," he added, standing on tiptoe to give Sam a kiss on the nose. "I know you don't want to do it, but I promise it'll be absolutely amazing in a month or two." 

"I hope so," Sam replied, but he offered Lucifer a small smile before releasing him to go make the appointments for the following week. He shook his head a little, but knew Lucifer would've talked him into it in the end anyway.


	11. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel comes home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I think I'm almost done a chapter gets really long and I have to split it in two. Oh well. We are, at least, nearing the end.
> 
> Have some Sam and Lucifer being parents to Castiel fluff!

Castiel ran out of Michael's house almost the moment Sam and Lucifer pulled up in Sam's car. He was carrying an overstuffed, heavy-looking backpack and a small duffel bag. Sam and Lucifer got out of the car to offer the boy hugs and to place his bag into the trunk. Sam left his backpack in the backseat with him; it was, after all, a three-hour drive from Redding down to Oakland. 

Castiel took the seat behind Sam so that it was easier to speak with his brother. With nearly no pleasantries exchanged yet, he immediately tilted his head to the side and made a face, remarking on something he had noticed earlier. "Why would you get your _tongue_ pierced, Lu? Doesn't it hurt?"

Lucifer was beaming, and the tactless question didn't seem to bother him as they all buckled their seat belts and Sam turned the car around. "It hurt a little at first," he admitted. "But it doesn't hurt much now at all."

"But what is the _point_ of doing something like that to yourself?" Castiel pressed. 

"I like the way it looks. It's like...wearing fancy clothing, or having your face painted," Lucifer explained, while Sam just smiled as he drove. "It makes people look at me. I like the attention." Sam made a scoffing noise from the seat beside him. "And Sam likes it too," he added, just grinning more brightly and looking over at his fiancé. 

"Why do you like it, Mr. Winchester?" Castiel asked from the backseat. 

Sam took a moment to think of a PG-13 answer, especially since they had finally made use of one of those flavored condoms last night. "I like the way it sparkles. It reminds me of his eyes." 

"So...it's about physical attraction?" Castiel was like a dog with a bone, though he was also rummaging around in his backpack for something. 

"Yeah," Lucifer supplied. 

"Oh." Suddenly, the topic was dropped; Castiel didn't seem interested any more. "Guess what we did in school this week?"

"What?" Sam asked, glancing in the rearview mirror at the dark-haired boy. 

"We dissected an earthworm! Everyone else said it was gross, but I had fun! Did you know that their bottom side is rougher than their top side to help them move through the earth? The bumps on the bottom are called setae." Castiel pulled some papers out of his backpack and handed them to Lucifer. "Those are pictures of the inside of the earthworm," he explained. "Only," he added, "They're not really very good. I can't draw as good as you." 

Lucifer took a look at them, trying not to be grossed out by the idea how close earthworm guts had once been to the paper. "That's not true, Castiel. Look here, at this." Sam couldn't see what they were discussing because he was driving, but that was just as well--he wasn't all that excited about the insides of earthworms, either. "You can clearly see the different shapes of the different...thingies." 

"Organs," Sam corrected softly. 

"Organs," Lucifer said more loudly. "You really have an eye for detail. If you worked at it, I'm sure you could draw like me in no time." 

"Hmm." Castiel's response was neutral, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his brother. "I think I did well on the test we had on it today." 

Both Sam and Lucifer praised him, and they passed the rest of the car ride talking about school. Both Sam and Lucifer noted that it was one of the only subjects Castiel seemed to want to talk about, but for now they let that slide. Sam did ask Castiel at one point about his therapist, however, and Castiel replied that Michael and Anna were taking him to one twice a week. He didn't seem overly enthusiastic about the one they had picked for him, but at least he was able to speak with someone who wasn't family.

"Wow." Castiel's eyes were huge when Sam finally pulled up in front of their place. "I didn't know you were _rich_ , Mr. Winchester." Lucifer snorted out a laugh as he got out of the car. 

"One of the nice things about being a lawyer is that you don't have to worry about money," Sam replied with a shrug as he exited the vehicle as well. "And you know, you can call me Sam."

Castiel, who had already gotten out and shouldered his backpack, seemed to consider that for a few moments. "I still feel more comfortable calling you Mr. Winchester, if that's okay." 

"All right." Sam reminded himself that most of the adults Castiel had interacted with would be Mr. or Ms. or Mrs. something as he pulled Castiel's bag from the trunk. "Are you ready to meet the dogs?" Joyous barking was ringing out from the house, and a dog's head kept appearing and then disappearing in the window in the door. Not even obedience classes had taught Dean the dog not to jump. 

"Yes!" Castiel enthused, following Lucifer to the door. Sam followed them, so he was able to see the dogs fawn all over Lucifer at the same time as they gave Castiel a thorough sniffing. He held out his hand, palm-down, for them to sniff. Once they seemed more comfortable with him, Castiel reached down and began petting them. Michael did well, staying on the ground and just wagging his tail back and forth, but Dean (of course) promptly jumped up on Castiel, nearly knocking the boy backwards. 

"Down, Dean," Sam said. "No jumping, you know that." Dean moved away from Castiel, but promptly ran over to give Sam the same treatment he'd given Lucifer and Castiel. Sam gave the dogs a few pets, and eventually they all made it into the actual house. 

Castiel spent several minutes with the dogs, but afterwards, when he looked up and took in what he could see of the house, his eyes widened. "I remember that look," Sam murmured to Lucifer. "Remember the first time you came in here?"

"Not really," Lucifer admitted. "That night was a bit of a blur after--well, you know." He squeezed Sam's forearm and then moved toward the stairs. "Want to see your room first?" he asked Castiel. 

"Yes, please!" replied Castiel, fixing his gaze on Lucifer. 

"Well, come on, then, little bro." Lucifer led the way up the stairs, with Sam closing and locking the front door and then heading upstairs after them with Castiel's duffel. He hurried, because he didn't want to miss Castiel's reaction to what they had done with the room. 

"Wow!" he heard again, as he arrived at the doorway. Castiel was looking around in wonder. The room had formerly been a guest bedroom, but they'd updated it as much as they dared without Castiel's input. There was a reading nook with a window with a comfortable chair, and Sam and Lucifer had put up shelving next to it. Although Sam and Lucifer had promised each other they wouldn't spoil Castiel, the shelves were already nearly bursting with books. Next to the reading nook was a large desk with a desktop computer and monitor and an ergonomic chair and keyboard to go with it, although everything was pulled away from the walls a little ways, as Lucifer wanted to start painting the room tomorrow. 

The bed was the same queen-sized one the room had held before, but Sam and Lucifer had picked out a Marvel Universe-themed bedspread and sheets to put on it, as Castiel had mentioned that he liked comic books. There was a brand-new alarm clock on the table next to the bed by the door to the bathroom, as well as a lamp. The room's main light had a dimmer on it, so it could be turned up or down at will. 

"Oh my god!" Castiel exclaimed as he noticed something. He then slapped his hand over his mouth. ..."Sorry!" he added hastily, before setting his backpack down and hurrying over to the bed. "I didn't mean to swear!" He was reverently touching the books that Sam had laid out for him there--most notably, the best insect guide for California that Sam had been able to find (at least, according to reviews on Amazon.com). "Are these for me?"

"Yeah," Lucifer replied. "Sam got them for you." 

"Thank you, Mr. Winchester! Thank you so much!" Sam and Lucifer put an arm around each other, and beamed as they watched Castiel immediately sit down and open the book to a random page. "I already have this one in my collection!" he exclaimed. 

"I think we did good, Luce," Sam said, turning and kissing Lucifer on the cheek. 

"I think so too," Lucifer replied with a smile. 

"Okay. Castiel, we'll leave you alone so you can unpack your things," Sam said. "We're going to get dinner ready and eat soon, so when you're done, please come downstairs. We can eat and then we'll show you the rest of the house." 

"Okay," Castiel replied, although his nose was still buried in the insect book. 

Sam resigned himself to the fact that Castiel was unlikely to actually come downstairs on his own, and turned and led his husband back down the stairs. When they reached the kitchen, Lucifer hugged him from behind. "Thank you so much, Sam. You don't know what it means to me to see him smile like that, after everything he went through." Lucifer had, eventually, in bits and pieces, read through the binder that Rafa had given them. 

Sam turned around so he could hug his boyfriend back. "You're welcome, sweetie. I'm happy to see him smiling, too. Now, let's get dinner ready." Luckily for Castiel, that consisted of Sam getting the lasagne and bread Ellen had made out of the oven where they were being kept warm, and Lucifer actually throwing together the salad ingredients and tossing it. The two set the table, grinning at each other as they kept forgetting to set three places instead of two. Lucifer put fruit juice in front of all of their plates on principle. 

As Lucifer went back into the kitchen to find a few additional serving utensils, Sam made his way to the stairs. "Castiel, dinner's ready," he called. 

To his surprise (although really, when he thought about it later he realized he shouldn't have been surprised), Castiel came down immediately. "Okay, Mr. Winchester. I already washed my hands," he added, holding them up as if for inspection.

Sam just laughed. "Good job," he replied, then gestured toward the dining room. "It's that way," he said, as if the delicious smells of Ellen's cooking weren't directions enough. 

"I love your house, Mr. Winchester. It's beautiful," Castiel said as they made their way to the dining room. 

"Thank you. Lucifer helped a lot with it. He has a much better sense of style than I do," Sam admitted as they walked in and took their seats. 

"Damn skippy I do. Though you had a good color scheme going, at least," Lucifer said, as he served them all. "I just...improved on it." 

Castiel looked back and forth between Sam and Lucifer, waiting to eat until they had picked up forks and dug in. The boy took a few bites before swallowing and saying, "This is really good food." 

"Ell--Mrs. Harvelle made it," Sam explained. "I can't cook, and Lucifer doesn't have time to. She comes on weekdays and cooks for us. Her daughter Jo, who's in college, cleans up the place while she's cooking. They're going to come over next weekend because they both want to meet you." 

"I look forward to meeting them," Castiel said politely before digging into his food again. 

"Rafa's coming over tomorrow afternoon," Lucifer told Castiel around a mouthful of lasagne he hadn't bothered swallowing completely. "I thought maybe we could go get the paint for your room tomorrow morning, then start painting after she left. If you want to, of course."

"I get to see Rafa?" Castiel beamed at the two of them. "That's great! I need to thank her for everything she did for me." He inhaled some more lasagne as he thought about painting. "Won't it take a long time to get all of the tape and everything up before we could paint?"

"It will," Lucifer agreed, recalling that the boy had OCD issues and would likely refuse to paint until they had everything taped and draped just so. Lucifer was more of a 'as long as most of it ends up on the wall, we're good' kind of guy. "But we can at least buy the paint and get the tape up and everything covered. Then we could paint next weekend if you want to do it together. Or, if you just want me to do it, I can paint your room next week," he offered.

"I want to help," Castiel said, after a few minutes' consideration. "Well, I want to see you do it. I'm not sure if I'll be any help." 

"Of course you will," Sam told him. "Even I can paint walls. It's not that hard." Lucifer gave Sam a look that said that Sam couldn't paint walls very well, but he forbore making the actual comment in front of Castiel. 

"May I have some more salad?" Castiel asked, having already nearly cleaned his plate. 

"Of course," replied Sam, passing the bowl over to the teenager. "There's more lasagne and bread, too; help yourself to as much as you want." Sam smiled fondly, remembering how he and Dean used to devour everything in sight when they were Castiel's age, and then go raid the fridge for more. "Ellen baked you a cake for your homecoming, though, so leave room for that." 

Castiel took second helpings of everything. He looked thoughtful for a few minutes, then asked, "Could we wait to have it until tomorrow when Rafa's here?" 

Lucifer and Sam exchanged a look, neither quite believing that a teenage boy would vote to put off cake. Still, Lucifer nodded, swallowing this time before he spoke. "Of course; that's a good idea. She's the one who's really responsible for getting you away from our parents. We can all celebrate together," he added with a smile. 

"I like that you call her her, Lu. It makes her so happy," Castiel said. "I like it when she smiles. She didn't used to smile much at all, especially when she was around our parents. They said such mean things to her." 

"They said mean things to all of us, little bro," Lucifer replied. "They aren't true of me, they aren't true of Rafa, and they aren't true of you." 

"What sort of mean things did they say to you?" Castiel asked, before shoving a big forkful of salad into his mouth. 

Lucifer glanced over at Sam before he continued. "They called all of us sinners all the time. Sometimes heathens or pagans, depending on what we were doing. And..." he trailed off. "There are some things they said that I don't really want to repeat. But I'll tell you, just once, so you know that we all went through the same thing, okay?"

"Okay," Castiel agreed solemnly. Sam reached out and set a hand on his fiancé's arm, knowing how difficult it was for the other man to talk about the abuse he'd suffered at Chuck's hands. 

"The worst thing Mom ever said to me is that she wished I'd never been born. She said that she wished God had struck me and my evil down before I'd even left her womb. That was before she found out I was gay; she'd caught me, uhhhh..." He blushed; why was it so hard to talk frankly about sex when his little brother was looking at him with wide eyes? "Masturbating," he managed finally. "When Dad came home that night, he beat me bloody with his belt."

Sam's expression turned dark, and Castiel had a mixture of sympathy and fellow-feeling on his face that made Sam's heart break a little further. Castiel didn't say anything, however. 

"Then later Dad," Lucifer said, moving on rather quickly, "Called me some really awful names for gay people. He said I wasn't his son anymore and that--" his breath hitched slightly, "that he hoped I died of AIDS before I brought the family any more shame. He--he said some other stuff, too." Sam immediately scooted his chair closer to Lucifer and put an arm around the blonde. Lucifer rubbed his face in his hands, but then looked up at Castiel almost apologetically. "The important thing is that whatever they said to you, Castiel--it's not true. You're not going to go to hell. You're not going to die a horrible death. You're safe here, with us, and you're going to be okay. You're going to do amazing things when you grow up. Once you get older, you're going to look back at the things they said to you and know how not true they were." He reached across the table to take Castiel's hand in his. 

"I'm sorry, Lu," Castiel whispered, half apologizing for what his parents had done and half apologizing for asking the question in the first place. He took Lucifer's hand, but looked down at his again-empty plate, refusing to meet Lucifer's gaze.

"Don't be, little bro," Lucifer said softly, "You didn't do any of it. And don't ever be afraid to ask us anything. It's very hard for me to talk about this still, but I'm trying because I know it's important for you to realize you weren't alone. I also want you to know that you can talk to us about anything, too, even if it's hard. Sam's a really good listener," he added, turning to give his boyfriend a weak smile. 

Sam smiled back, and nodded. "You can tell us anything," he agreed. "We'll listen, and we'll believe you and we'll do our best not to judge you. If you prefer, you can send us an e-mail or text or give us a letter instead of talking directly to us."

"I can?" Castiel asked, looking up. 

"Sure," Sam replied, making a mental note that the boy might be more comfortable over e-mail or text. "You should also know that if you are -ever- uncomfortable in any situation, or something doesn't feel right, or something's wrong, you can call us and we'll come get you as soon as you can. Even if you've snuck out of the house or something and think you're going to be in trouble, call us. We don't care what you've done; we just want you to be safe." Sam remembered his mom giving him the same speech at one point, and while he had never ended up calling his parents, Dean had--and it was a good thing, too, because if Dean had tried driving home while as intoxicated as he'd been, anything could have happened.

"Really?" Castiel was silent a moment. Sam realized that the kid took everything very seriously--much as he had done, once. "Thank you, Mr. Winchester. But I promise I won't sneak out of the house or get into trouble." 

"Well, this is just in case," Sam said, removing his arm from around his boyfriend, who was still pulling himself back together. "You never know when you might be over at a friend's house and something might happen. Now, how about we clean up, and then we can show you the rest of the house? We can show you the backyard tomorrow when it gets light." 

"Okay!" Castiel immediately jumped up, and started carrying empty plates and glasses in to the kitchen. 

The three of them put the dishes in the dishwasher and the leftover food back into the fridge. Sam made a point of telling Castiel that he was welcome to anything in there or in any of the cupboards except the beer as he showed him around the kitchen. "If you make a list of some of your favorite foods, we can make sure we have them for you next weekend. Tell us what fruits and vegetables you like, too, so we can have some healthy food here too." 

"He's really into healthy food," Lucifer stage-whispered to Castiel, holding his hand up so Sam couldn't see what he was saying. "Luckily, Ellen makes sure we get the good food, too." 

"Hey. Healthy food -is- good," Sam protested, lips forming a pout. 

"So -he- thinks," Lucifer stage-whispered. Castiel actually chuckled, and neither one was quite prepared for how their hearts would soar when they made the teenager laugh. 

Sam and Lucifer showed Castiel around the house, and then he asked if he could go up to his room and work on his homework before bedtime. They agreed, and ended up sitting on the couch together with the dogs, who had followed them all through the house. "I told you you'd be amazing," Lucifer told Sam, poking him in the ribs. 

"I don't know about amazing, but you were pretty good there yourself, Luce," Sam grinned in response, then leaned over and kissed Lucifer on the cheek--the embargo on getting unfamiliar bacteria into Lucifer's mouth was still on. "...I'm a bit exhausted, though."

"You drove for six hours," Lucifer said, turning Sam so he could begin to massage the taller man's shoulders, "And then you dealt with a teenager--my little brother, no less, who has somehow been taught to be polite, but not tactful." 

Sam snorted, and leaned into Lucifer's fingers, which really were magical when it came to getting out knots. "I thought you were going to explode when you told him your mom had caught you jerking off." 

"Me too. I was terrified he was going to ask me what masturbation means," Lucifer replied. "I--we need to have the talk with him /soon/, but I didn't want to do it the very first night." 

'? (((OOC: This is a secret message inserted into this fic by the author's cat. It was left in place so the author isn't automatically killed when cats evolve thumbs and take over the world.)))

"No, definitely not," Sam agreed, laughing. "We can wait a weekend or two until we're all more comfortable with one another. Oh, god, Luce, have I told you today how much I love you and your fingers?"

"Not yet," Lucifer told him, pressing his lips against the back of Sam's neck. 

"Well, I love you and your fingers," Sam said. "I swear, you could be a massage therapist if you wanted to." 

"Nah, I prefer painting." Lucifer reached over for the remote, and clicked the TV on. It was already on one of the true crime channels they both liked, so he left it there as he went back to the massage. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm @masterpieceofturkeycleverness on Tumblr.
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated!


	12. New family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some scenes celebrating Castiel's arrival. And more piercing. And the Talk, because my brain couldn't leave the idea alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Needles when they get into the piercing studio.

The next day, Castiel was so excited to see Rafa that he ran out the door and out to the driveway as soon as the dogs started barking. Sam just laughed from his position on the couch, since Castiel closed the door to prevent the dogs from running out after him. 

"Dean, Michael!" Lucifer walked down the stairs from where he'd been setting the wall-painting equipment and paint they'd bought earlier that morning in Castiel's room. "Backyard!" He led the dogs to the back door, and let them out. 

Meanwhile, Sam got up to let Castiel and Rafa back into the house (though the door hadn't locked behind the teenager). "Welcome," he said, offering Rafa a one-armed hug as Castiel led her into the house by the hand. She handed Sam a wrapped package, and he moved to set it on the coffee table near the cake after he'd closed the door. He didn't know what it was, but it felt like a book, or perhaps several.

"Come see my room, Rafa, it's so 'lit'!" Castiel said, adding air quotes to the word before grabbing Rafa's hand again and tugging on it, trying to lead her toward the stairs. 

"Hold up, little bro, I need to give my big sister a hug first." Lucifer reappeared from the back of the house and wrapped his arms around his sister, who let go of Castiel long enough to return the hug. "Thanks for coming," Lucifer said, patting her on the back. "He really wanted to see you." 

"I can tell," she replied, laughing. "And congratulations," she added, though she'd already congratulated Lucifer and Sam (and Castiel) via e-mail. "Okay, okay, I am coming, Castiel," she added, shooting the others an apologetic look before following Castiel up the stairs. 

"You go with them," Sam told Lucifer. "I'll bring up some juice in a minute."

"Thanks," Lucifer replied, heading upstairs after his siblings. Sam found a tray and set four glasses on it, before pouring the fruit juice Lucifer had decided to buy this week into the glasses. 

Sam carried the tray up the stairs, only to hear the tail end of one of Castiel's explanations. "And Lu says he can actually paint ocean waves at the bottom, though it'll take longer than just painting the walls. He said he could even do some clouds if I wanted." 

"You are a very lucky young man," Rafa said, accepting a glass of juice from Sam as he handed them out. "Luci's paintings sell for quite a bit of money. And you will have one of your very own on your wall." 

"Yes! And look, Sam bought me an insect guide!" He brought it over to show her, ignoring the glass of juice Sam set on his beside table. "I've been adding the scientific names to my collection. Like this one, it's _Idia americalis_. I'm not sure I'm pronouncing it correctly, though." 

"You are quite close," Rafa said. "In Latin, I is usually pronounced 'ee'. So it would be Ee-dee-ah americalis." 

"Wouldn't it be 'amer-ee-cal-ees,' then?" Castiel asked his sister. "How do you know Latin, anyway?"

Sam and Lucifer looked on, Lucifer having accepted his juice with a smile and a kiss to Sam's cheek. He was drinking it now, eyeing the walls of the room with a look that Sam recognized--it was the look Lucifer got whenever he was staring at a blank canvas. Sam almost felt sorry for Castiel; if he wasn't careful, he was going to get a whole mural instead of just freshly-painted walls. 

"A great deal of medical terminology is Latin," Rafa explained. "Thus, I know a little of it. Enough that I can at least guess at proper pronunciations. You are right, it probably is 'amer-ee-cal-ees,' but since it is based on 'America,' most people will say 'amerih-cahl-ihss.'" 

"Thank you," Castiel said. "Do you think you could help me with some other pronunciations?" 

"Of course, Castiel," Rafa replied. "Show me which ones you are having trouble with." 

The two spent about a half hour discussing the pronunciation of scientific names before Sam suggested they all go back downstairs so they could have Ellen's cake and Castiel could open the present that Rafa brought. After making their way downstairs, they took seats around the coffee table and watched Castiel unwrap his present, which turned out to be a book about puberty and sex, along the lines of _Our Bodies, Ourselves_ except for young men instead of women. It was sex-positive, and covered topics like consent and gay sex in addition to the standard 'this is what your hormones will do to you' discussion. 

Castiel just stared at it for a few minutes. "Um. Thank you, Rafa," he managed finally. "But why would you get me this?" He looked up at her, completely confused, and tilted his head to the side.

"Because it contains information that all young men should have," Rafa replied evenly. "Whether or not you decide to have sex. Even if you eventually find out that you're somewhere on the asexual spectrum, you should at least understand the basics of being male and female and how your body works." 

"Oh," Castiel replied. "Okay," he added after a moment or two of staring at the book. "I suppose that makes sense. Thank you, Rafa."

"You are welcome," the older woman replied. "I also want you to know that you can ask me anything, if you have questions. I am a nurse; I have seen practically everything. You may e-mail me if you prefer it to asking me in person." 

"Okay," Castiel repeated, setting the book down on the coffee table. 

Sam picked it up, paged through it, and was thoroughly impressed by what he saw--he wished he'd had a copy of this book when he was a teenager. "Nice choice," he complimented Rafa, who smiled at him. 

"Cake time!" Lucifer announced, dissipating the somewhat awkward tension in the room. The cake was already on the coffee table; it had 'Welcome Castiel!' written on it in blue frosting over white icing. Lucifer picked up a knife and cut four generous slices, setting each on a nearby plate. Sam passed the slices out, first to Rafa and then to Castiel before keeping one for himself.

"Go ahead, Castiel, it's your cake," Sam encouraged him to take the first bite once they all had slices and forks. 

Castiel did, eyes widening as he tasted the dessert. "This is amazing!" he exclaimed after he swallowed it. "Mrs. Harvelle is such a good cook!" 

The others agreed, most with various takes on pleased humming noises. "You can tell her that when you meet her next weekend," Sam pointed out. "I'm sure she'll appreciate it." 

"I will," Castiel promised. 

The four of them spent the rest of the afternoon swapping stories about siblings; Rafa gave Sam and Castiel plenty of blackmail-worthy stories about things that Lucifer had done when he was younger. Eventually, Rafa went home, and Sam and Castiel went upstairs to start taping Castiel's room while Lucifer made dinner (a pot of Benny's gumbo with rice--their usual weekend fare). All three were happier than they had been in a long time.

\------------------------------------------

That Thursday, Sam and Lucifer found themselves in the piercing studio. They were both sore and achy, having decided to have as much sex as they possibly could before getting genital piercings. Sam was still thinking too hard, and Lucifer wished he could've gotten Sam drunk before they came in. Gordon wouldn't have done the piercing, of course, being too much of a professional, but Lucifer knew it would've been easier were his boyfriend three sheets to the wind. Sam, not surprisingly, had cold feet--again. Lucifer swore that this was at least the twelfth time _today_ , and it wasn't that late.

"I don't know, Luce..." 

Lucifer clapped a hand over his boyfriend's mouth, startling Sam. "No," he nearly growled, as Sam's eyes widened. "We've already talked about this. You decide whether you're going to go through with it or back out of it before we go back there, but we're _not_ discussing it again." 

"But--" Sam began as soon as Lucifer removed his hand. 

"No." Lucifer picked up a magazine and began to aggressively page through it. "You have every bit of information you need, we've discussed all of your what if's--I'm done. You're obsessing about this as much as Castiel does about the light switch thing. Time to make your decision," he added, as Gordon came out and waved them back. "As I recall, you said you wanted to go first."

Sam looked hurt--and then a little angry, which was what Lucifer was aiming for. Surely Sam couldn't be angry -and- think too much at the same time. "Fine," the taller man snapped, brushing past Lucifer to plant himself in the piercing chair. "Do it," he told Gordon as he undid his belt. 

"We're being rude today," Lucifer explained to Gordon. "We apparently don't like having our behavior compared to an OCD teenager's. Even if we are acting exactly like him--no, check that, we're acting _worse_ than him, because Castiel is at least polite." 

Gordon said nothing, though while Sam was leveling a glare at Lucifer, he offered Lucifer a wink. He could tell that, while Lucifer's frustration might be real, the other man was mostly trying to distract Sam while he got his piercing. It was working, so Gordon quickly put on a pair of gloves and began setting out his equipment. 

"What the hell, Luce?" Sam demanded, as he finished pulling his cock out. "What is _wrong_ with you today?" 

"I don't know, Sam, let me think," Lucifer said sarcastically. He did feel a little guilty for doing this to Sam--he wasn't nearly as upset as he was pretending to be--but he _was_ frustrated by his boyfriend's behavior. "Maybe it's because every two minutes, you want me to list all of the benefits of having a piercing. _Again._ And every other minute, you want me to reassure you about healing times or infection or something."

Gordon took hold of Sam and began to hold jewelry up against him, but Sam barely noticed. "Well, forgive me for wanting to discuss such an important matter with my _fiancé_ ," he retorted, equally sarcastic, glaring at Lucifer. 

"Ready, Sam?" Gordon asked quietly. While he didn't want Sam to tense up too much, he also didn't want Sam to jump up out of the chair. 

"What? Oh. Yeah," Sam replied, looking back at Gordon. His eyes widened slightly, and then he was showing off his rather impressive vocabulary, as Gordon inserted the needle. He'd learned the swears from Dean, and while he might not use any of the words on a regular basis, they all came pouring out now. 

Meanwhile, Lucifer just smirked, and nodded at Gordon. He let the argument drop, and took one of Sam's hands instead, just in time to be gripped hard enough he thought he was going to lose a finger or two. "He's almost done, Sam. Just hang in there for another minute or so." Lucifer winced--half in sympathy and half because of his poor fingers. 

Sam started calling Lucifer some names that not even Zachariah had called him, but Lucifer was unfazed--he knew exactly how much this hurt, and he wasn't planning to hold it over Sam's head. Much. Gordon was mostly trying not to laugh as he inserted a sterile piece of jewelry into the hole he'd made and secured it. That done, he stood, stripping off his gloves after tossing the trash and used needle into the various bins. He went to a nearby freezer and pulled out an ice pack, wrapped it in a clean towel, and then offered it to Sam. "While you're...recovering," he managed to keep a straight face as he set the ice pack next to Sam, "I'm going to take a look at your ear and make sure it's healing well, all right?" Gordon didn't wait for any confirmation, because Sam was still bent double and whimpering. 

Lucifer started murmuring encouragement to Sam, taking the ice pack and handing it to his boyfriend, indicating that he should use it. Gordon put on a second set of gloves and then used a non-alcohol based sterile wipe to wipe around the stud in Sam's ear, examining the lobe for any discoloration or warmth. "This looks good; you've kept it clean and it's healing nicely," Gordon finally told them. "Keep it up for a few more weeks, and make sure you do the same thing with the one I just gave you. It's even _more_ important to keep it clean when it's down there." 

Sam took advantage of the ice pack, and slowly started easing off the pressure on his boyfriend's hand. "I hate you," he finally managed to gasp at Lucifer. 

Lucifer just laughed. "What is it you told me about what teenagers really mean when they say that, Sam?" he teased. "Anyway, I'm going to hate you just as much in a few minutes." 

"While we're waiting, why don't I take a look at your mouth?" Gordon suggested, adjusting a light so it was shining on Lucifer's face, although not in his eyes. He also stripped off the gloves he'd just used and put on a new pair. 

"Okay," Lucifer replied, obediently opening his mouth so that Gordon could get a look at his tongue piercing. 

Gordon gave both the underside and upperside a good once-over before adjusting the piece of jewelry. "It's good," he said finally. "I'd say another week before you kiss anyone, and keep cleaning it out for about a week after that just in case. Then, come back in and I'll put in whatever you want." 

"Sounds good," replied Lucifer after he closed his mouth. "Okay, Sam," he said to his fiancé, patting the other man on the back. "You have to get up now and sit in this chair." 

Sam just groaned, but after a moment he stood and got himself back into his boxers and pants with Lucifer's help. Lucifer eased him down into the other chair, and handed him back the ice pack. "My turn," he said brightly, though he knew exactly how much this was going to hurt. Lucifer watched Gordon get another needle and piece of sterile jewelry out while he pulled out his dick, already divested of his Prince Albert jewelry. He grabbed Sam's hand, mostly for payback. 

"Ready?" Gordon asked Lucifer. 

"Yup," Lucifer replied. He ended up swearing too, but much less than Sam had. Sam watched the process through watery eyes, and didn't comment. Soon, Lucifer had an ice pack of his own. 

"Okay. I'll give you two some time. Come out when you're ready; there's no rush," Gordon told them, heading toward the front counter. 

Silence reigned for a few minutes, then: "How're you doing, Sam?" Lucifer asked. 

"...Better. But it still hurts," Sam responded. "I can't believe you've had this done before and wanted to do it _again._ "

"Right now, neither can I," Lucifer groaned. "But just think of all the amazing sex we'll have later." 

"...I'd rather not," Sam told him. "Luce, I'm sorry I said I hated you. I didn't mean that." 

"I know, Sam," Lucifer replied in a soft tone. "I was trying to get you angry so you wouldn't overthink this." 

"Well, it worked," Sam admitted. He straightened with a groan, and reached over to set the ice pack on a table. "God. I think this is actually _worse_ than getting kicked in the balls." 

"Mm, well, you can lay down if you want, once we get home."

"That seems a really long way away," Sam told him. 

"Well, then we should get started. C'mon, I'll drive us home," Lucifer said, placing his own ice pack next to Sam's. He took Sam's hand--a lot more gently than before--and they walked out to pay before heading home. They were both walking oddly, although Sam found that the motion wasn't nearly as painful as he'd thought it might be. When they finally got home, they both ended up napping, naked, on their bed. As Lucifer had predicted, Sam didn't even want to think about other things they could do while naked on the bed and didn't think he would for some time. 

\------------------------------------------

That weekend, Ellen and Jo met Castiel, and vice-versa. They all seemed smitten with each other from the start, Jo promising to take him to 'all the good parties' once he got a little older and Ellen threatening to murder Jo if she even thought about corrupting the 'little angel.' Castiel complimented them both, and despite a few tactless questions about Ellen's age and how much make-up Jo was wearing, he managed to stay in their good graces until they left later that day.

Sam and Lucifer ended up having The Talk with Castiel later that evening, while Lucifer sat on the floor and painted ocean waves at the bottom of the walls and Sam took the painting tape at the top of the room down. Castiel had read through the book Rafa had given him, and had lots of questions--which he'd written down and itemized in order of importance. Sam and Lucifer did their best to answer them. Some of them, Lucifer knew, would make excellent blackmail material once Castiel was a little older. In particular, early on, Castiel asked, "How do you know all of this already? You're not married, so you haven't had sex, right?" 

Lucifer couldn't help it; he burst out laughing. Sam shot a glare in his direction, then turned around to face Castiel. "Actually," he said, "Very few people wait to have sex until they're married anymore. It's okay if you decide you want to wait, but you need to know that most teenagers have sex before they leave high school. Many adults have casual sex with each other without even being in a committed relationshi, too."

"Really?" Castiel's blue eyes were huge, in horror or surprise, Sam couldn't tell. 

"Really," Sam confirmed, throwing a ball of paint tape at Lucifer, who was still snickering. It bounced off of his chest, and just made him laugh even harder. 

"Does that mean--have _you two_ had sex with each other?" Castiel wanted to know. Lucifer completely lost it, rolling onto his side and clutching at his stomach. 

"Yes, we have," Sam replied, trying to maintain his dignity. "We both wanted to, and we both consented. And before we were in a committed relationship, we made sure to be safe when we had sex." He was going to kill Lucifer. Dead. His fiancé was supposed to be _helping_ him. 

"What's so funny?" Castiel finally wanted to know, looking over at Lucifer. 

"Yeah, Luce, what's so funny?" Sam added, shooting his boyfriend a reproachful look. 

"Not--not you, either--of you," Lucifer gasped, sitting up and trying to stop laughing. "It's just..." he paused to wipe some tears from his eyes, "Oh god. Castiel. You must not have figured it out."

"Figured what out?" Castiel asked, pushing his glasses up his nose. Sam made a mental note to ask him if he wanted to try contacts at some point. 

"D'you--d'you remember our parents' wedding anniversary?" After Castiel nodded and rattled off a date, complete with year, Lucifer continued. "D'you know what day Mikey's birthday is?" Castiel named a date approximately seven months later, without a year. "And the year?" Lucifer prodded. 

Castiel opened his mouth--and then closed it after a moment or two. "Perhaps Michael was...born premature?" Sam felt a little sorry for him; Sam himself hadn't known about this (although he wasn't that surprised). 

"Nope," Lucifer replied. "Ten pounds, 11 ounces. Mikey was a big boy." He lifted a hand before Castiel could say anything further. "Look, I'm not pointing this out to make you think less of Mom and Dad. I just want you to know that despite what many churches teach about abstinence, most of their parishioners have gone against those teachings at one point or another. Almost no one is still a virgin when they get married."

"And there's decent evidence that few people in historical times were, either," Sam supplied. "Of course, there are asexual people, who choose not to have sex and/or don't want to have sex, but most people who want sex have it long before they're married." 

"Does it feel good?" Castiel asked, and the conversation went on. 

Both Sam and Lucifer ultimately managed to escape with both their sanity and (most of) their dignity intact. Later, alone in their room, Sam gave Lucifer a glare. "We promised we wouldn't laugh!" he protested. 

"I know, but Sam...he thought we hadn't had sex. Us, Sam," Lucifer replied, gesturing back and forth between them. "Me and you. If he only knew..."

"Please don't tell him just how much we usually have," Sam tried not to grin, but couldn't help it--Lucifer's was infectious. "Or that we started when we didn't know a thing about each other." 

"I knew you were gorgeous," Lucifer responded. "And that you were kind." He walked over to hug Sam--platonically--neither one of them wanted to get hard this soon after the piercings. "And--I'm sure I knew some other stuff, too." 

"Yeah?" Sam replied, leaning his forehead against Lucifer's. "I still feel a little guilty for saying yes to you that morning. I felt like I was taking advantage of you, but it'd been so long and you were so hot..."

"Don't," Lucifer leaned up to give Sam a peck on his cheek. "Believe me, I wanted to. And I think that was the best sex I had the entire time I was a prostitute. All I could think about afterward was how mad Zachariah would be if he knew I'd enjoyed myself that much." 

Sam snorted, and then hugged his boyfriend close. "C'mon," he said. "Let's go to bed. I swear that kid gets up nearly as early as we do." 

"You should take him on one of your runs. Wear him out," Lucifer suggested as he walked around to the other side of the bed to undress. 

"That's not a bad idea," Sam replied, as he did the same. They crawled into bed, turned out the lights, and then snuggled up to each other. "'Night, sweetie," Sam said. 

"'Night, babe," Lucifer replied. It wasn't long before both of them were fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one chapter left, in which I'm going to somehow wrap this crazy ride up. 
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr: @masterpieceofturkeycleverness
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated!


	13. The end...for now...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A final decision is made regarding Castiel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's smut at the end of the chapter. You're welcome.

After school let out, Castiel became a full-time presence in Sam and Lucifer's house. They quickly noticed that while he spoke to other kids on the computer, he never wanted to go out and do anything with his friends. One careful interrogation later, and Sam realized it was because Castiel didn't _have_ any friends who weren't online--the ones he'd had in Redding had all been part of the Church and refused to speak with him any more. After some quick internet searches and checking with Castiel to make certain it would be all right, Sam and Lucifer signed Castiel up for an entomology summer camp where he could interact with graduate students from some of the nearby UC schools and with other high school, as Lucifer put it to Sam when they were in private, 'insect nerds.' Castiel was over the moon, and very much looking forward to the camp starting later in the summer. 

Sam went to work at the new firm, and never regretted his decision for a moment. It turned out to be a perfect fit for him, with reasonable working hours and even some flex-time for new parents, which he now qualified for. Perhaps more importantly, he believed he was actually able to make a difference in peoples' lives with the cases he took on. The work was much more satisfying than the work he'd done at the other firm, even though it had had a better reputation.

Sam used some of his flex time to support Lucifer, Castiel and Rafa when they had to give evidence in their parents' child abuse trial. It was hard on all three of them, and even though Castiel was spared the worst, with either Lucifer or Sam sitting with him outside the courtroom when he wasn't testifying, he still had nightmares and severe obsessive-compulsive disorder issues for several weeks afterward. Ultimately, Chuck and Naomi were both convicted; Chuck received a much harsher sentence than Naomi, but they would both spend time in jail for what they did. 

After that trial, Meg managed to talk Lucifer into speaking to the California Bar Association about Alistair. They'd gotten several complaints from various judges about him, and after hearing what Lucifer had to say about the man, Alistair Rolston was disbarred. Both Sam and Lucifer dealt with some (probably misplaced) guilt over this, but every time Sam looked at the scars on his fiancé's back, the guilt disappeared.

Rafa continued her transition, and found a supportive girlfriend. The girlfriend's name was Madison, and she got along well with Sam, Lucifer and Castiel. Rafa seemed so much happier now that she had found someone to potentially share her life with, and was already cheerfully (and seriously) considering top surgery. 

Castiel continued to visit Michael and Anna and their children, but they became less welcoming of him over time as he forced them to acknowledge the existence of Michael's other brother and sister. One day, Hester Holmes notified Judge Mills that Michael and Anna no longer wished to have visitations with Castiel. Lucifer held Castiel while the boy cried after Sam and Lucifer broke the news to him. They had all hoped that Michael would unbend to the point where he could at least be passingly polite to Lucifer and Sam. Such, unfortunately, was apparently not to be. Castiel's OCD issues briefly reappeared, but after a week or so and with the help of Castiel's new therapist and his online friends, the issues slowly began to disappear.

After additional input from Pamela, Victor, and Ron, all of whom continued to visit Sam, Lucifer and Castiel on a semi-regular basis, Judge Mills made Sam and Lucifer Castiel's full-time legal guardians. There were days when it was overwhelming--Lucifer in particular nearly threw up every time Castiel asked for help with something Lucifer wasn't that familiar with--but for the most part, having Castiel in their house was more rewarding than draining, even for Lucifer. Castiel eventually admitted to really liking one of Lucifer's paintings (even though he couldn't explain why), and Lucifer hung it up in Castiel's room for him to enjoy. 

And, of course, there were the piercings. The two men waited until Castiel had left for entomology camp to fully explore their benefits. As Lucifer had promised, the piercings had healed well enough that getting hard and ejaculating didn't hurt any more. The two had given each other hand jobs and blow jobs (always with a condom on), but tonight, they'd decided to take it one step further.

Lucifer had insisted on topping first, so Sam was face down on the bed with his knees bent. Lucifer had been playing with Sam with his fingers for a while now, and Sam was finally stretched enough that Lucifer leaned over Sam and nipped his ear. "Ready?" he asked. 

"God, yes," Sam replied, catching Lucifer's lips for a moment while they were close. 

"Here goes." Lucifer slowly slid his condom-covered self into his fiancé, panting with the effort of not orgasming then and there--it had been a while, after all. 

"Ahhh!" Sam couldn't even get out monosyllabic words as he felt Lucifer's piercing slide over his prostate. 

Lucifer chuckled darkly. "Like that, Sam?" He began to thrust, varying the depth so that he hit Sam's prostate intermittently. 

It took next to no time for Sam to become a writhing, panting mess beneath Lucifer. Sam had regained the power of speech, but they were limited to words such as, 'Please,' 'More,' 'Luce,' and 'Oh god.' It was abundantly clear that he was enjoying Lucifer's new piercing. 

It took considerable strength of will, but Lucifer stilled, and Sam moaned at the lack of stimulation. Lucifer leaned over Sam--he'd decided to fight dirty, tonight. "Want more, babe?" he asked, before sucking a hickey into Sam's shoulder. 

"Yes!" Sam gasped and wriggled. He looked confused; they normally didn't play around like this. "Please!" 

"Mmm. Then tell me I was right to suggest we get these." Lucifer pulled back out and thrust once, for emphasis. 

"Oh god, yes! Yes, you were right!" Sam was way too far gone to try to hold back the words, his body tense and his eyes almost completely black; he probably would've admitted to anything in that moment. "I was wrong! Please, Luce, please, I'm close!"

"Well. Since you asked so nicely..." Lucifer growled in his ear, and proceeded to set a frenetic pace. Sam was howling after the third thrust, coming so hard it looked as if he was close to blacking out. Lucifer held him up until he filled the condom, biting down hard on the shoulder that didn't already have a bruise. He pulled out of Sam and then took the condom off, tied it, and tossed it in the trash. He was going to have to clean his piercing carefully later, but it had totally been worth it.

Lucifer was still looking smug, arms behind his head, when Sam finally managed to turn to him and give him a weak glare. "Better be careful what you say, Sam, or I'll take this out and let the hole heal up," Lucifer warned. He was joking, of course. Mostly. 

Sam's glare intensified. "That wasn't fair!" he protested.

Lucifer laughed, and then leaned over to kiss his boyfriend. "Life's not fair. Anyway, admit it. I was right and you were wrong." 

Sam's bitchface faltered, and he rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said. "You were right and I was wrong." 

"I knew I'd finally picked an argument I could win against you," Lucifer grinned. He gave Sam another soft kiss (they were back to being able to do that), and then stretched. "Want a bath before round two?"

"Round two?" Sam groaned, though he nodded at the idea of a bath. 

"I haven't gotten to try yours out yet," Lucifer pointed out, his grin positively devilish at this point. He slowly got up, and then walked around the bed to try to pull Sam out of it. 

Sam rolled over and held out his hands for Lucifer to take. "I love you." 

"I love you too, Sam," Lucifer replied as he pulled his fiancé--soon to be his husband--to his feet and wrapped him in his arms. "Peppermint or lemon eucalyptus?" 

"Lemon," Sam said, letting his head rest on Lucifer's shoulder for a moment. 

"Good choice. Come on." Lucifer stepped away, and then pulled Sam into the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy cow, it's finished! I'm not as happy with this as I am with Sunrise, but considering I thought about this story for all of a day before I started writing and I wasn't entirely sure where I was going to go with it initially (as opposed to Sunrise, which was carefully planned), I think it turned out all right. 
> 
> There will probably be more timestamps in this universe, but I'm going to give it a break for the time being. I've decided to participate in the Sam Winchester Big Bang, so...yeah XD. I'm also going to try to do some more one shots/short stories, because I need practice with those. If you have any specific requests for this universe or anything else, you can find me on Tumblr: @masterpieceofturkeycleverness. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are appreciated!


End file.
